Family Blood
by AnkhSu
Summary: (Sequel to 'Give Me Darkness, Give Me Light') Life is suddenly turned upside down for Dr. Lecter, Clarice and many others as shadows of the past come back to haunt them...~Chapter 16 just added!~
1. A Ticking Time Bomb

_(A/N: This is the sequel to 'Give Me Darkness, Give Me Light'. It takes place about a few months after the first story. This story is promising to be quite long so be warned (At the moment I have about 20 chapters all planned out)! Oh, and the words in italics are Arabic, the translation is provided in the brackets following the word(s). Kay, hope you enjoy the ride!)_

**Family Blood**

_Chapter 1: A Ticking Time Bomb_

Nighttime at Buenos Aires has a mysterious, romantic feeling about it. Very few people in this world can truly appreciate that fact, for better or for worse. At the moment two people who truly could were enjoying the peaceful stillness of the dark night on the balcony of a particularly exquisite home. After what felt like a lifetime of excitement and peril, former Special Agent Clarice Starling and Dr. Hannibal Lecter had every right to enjoy the radiant serenity of the hours of darkness, welcoming it like long missed friend. 

The cool wind picked up slightly, making Clarice's flaming hair flow in the breeze. She had never felt so carefree in her life. She had been here with Dr. Lecter for about ten months now, and she loved every second of it. No nagging superiors to answer to, no serial killers to chase, and no more screaming lambs. 

Sighing, she leaned further into Dr. Lecter's arms, content. She had followed him out here a while ago when he had gone out for some fresh air, and now they stood there together in silence. 

 Dr. Lecter, with one arm around Clarice and his other hand stroking her hair, stared out into the starry night sky, lost in thought. As peaceful as this time was for them, he could feel something lurking, an approaching disturbance. Even though he himself wasn't a believer of clairvoyance, his own feelings like his current one had been proven true time and time again, and he took it seriously. It wasn't only him either that was experiencing a slight change. Over the years he had noticed that Clarice tends to grow quite restless just before times of great hazard, and lately she had been more or less bouncing off the walls.  

Another breeze swept through the air, carrying the pleasant scents of nearby plants and flowers on it. Amongst this serene setting, any thoughts of danger seemed like a sin, an impossible possibility. However, looks can be deceiving. 

"We're going to have to leave here soon," Dr. Lecter quietly said, with a hint of disappointment in his voice.

Clarice looked up, a little surprised when he spoke. "Leave?" she asked.

 The doctor looked back at her. "I'm afraid so my dear. We shouldn't stay in one place for too long; just to be on the safe side." He didn't mention his thoughts of a lurking threat, not wanting to worry her.

Clarice vaguely muttered her agreement, seeing his point. As much as she enjoyed it here at Buenos Aires, even she knew that they wouldn't be able to stay there forever. But something else bothered her about the situation, something about how Dr. Lecter spoke about it told her that there was something more to leaving here. 

"Why the sudden change of plans?" she asked, determined to force the answer out of him if need be. 

Dr. Lecter seemed to hesitate for a second before responding. "I just sense something Clarice, and it's not pleasant. A gut feeling you could call it."

Clarice grinned. "Or paranoia perhaps?" 

What she didn't tell him, however, was that she had sensed the same thing as him for a while now. She had suspected that he felt it too, but didn't bring it up until now. 

Dr. Lecter chuckled a little at Clarice's quip. "As much as I would like to believe that my dear," his tone went back to serious again. "I'm quite confident that it's more than a case of paranoia."

Looking back into the sky for a few seconds, he eventually added. "Something is going to happen Clarice, and it won't be good. That I'm sure of."

Clarice nodded her agreement. 

After a few more moments of silence, she finally broke it, determined to lighten the mood for the night. She preferred not to dwell on darker things tonight.  

"I think that something is going to happen very soon as well," she turned to face him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "But it will be quite good, that I'm sure of."

With a wicked smile, in a swift movement her lips found his. Their prior thoughts of danger were quickly pushed to the back of their minds as they held each other in a passionate embrace.

**********

Noon was slowly approaching as Lilith Anna Mackenzie browsed through the local market near her home in Cairo, Egypt. Swerving through the crowds of people, no one would even consider that the woman wearing the green tank top, black jeans and silver ankh necklace with the tiny jade stone was hiding from the FBI. And certainly no one would ever suspect that she was the daughter of a famous cannibal. 

Lilith, AKA Jadis Rebecca Lecter, scanned the stalls of the local merchants, searching for one in particular. She enjoyed these walks through the market, looking out for anything that catches her eye. This was one of the few places where she could walk around and stay unnoticed, as long as she kept her tell-tale scar and maroon eyes hidden. Even though she was sure that she would be safe without the disguise, she preferred not to take any stupid risks as far as her true identity was concerned. She was just happy to be known as Lilith the _mossikiyy _(musician). She had made a name for herself locally for her skills with the flute and acoustic guitar by occasionally playing at a nearby café. 

Almost bumping into another woman, Jadis heard her cell phone ringing in her pant's pocket. Looking at the caller id, she was a little surprised at who it was. 

'Why would he be calling now?' she wondered as she answered the call. 

"_Marhaba_?_" (Hello?) she said into the small phone. _

 "_Marhaba__ to you too, Jadis," her father on the other end greeted her. "Where are you right now?"_

"_Sook__," (Market) she answered in Arabic, not wanting to draw attention by speaking English. _

Dr. Lecter understood. "The market," he repeated in English. "So I assume you can't find somewhere private at the moment, can't you?"

Jadis looked around her. "_La," (No) she told him. _

"Okay then, just listen and call me back later if you need to know more. Clarice and I are going to be leaving Buenos Aires soon."

Jadis blinked. "_Imta?_" (When?) she asked, surprised.  

"We think maybe sometime next week if possible. Before you ask, no we don't know where to yet, but we may stop in Cairo for a day or to, we're not sure."

"_Leyh_ la?_" (Why not?) she asked, curious._

 There was a short pause on the other end. "I'll explain everything to you when you're out of the public and not limited to one word sentences."

Jadis could hear the tease in his voice. Her Arabic wasn't the greatest in the world by far, but it was just enough to get her by. 

Grinning, she responded, "_Na'am, na'am. Feyn Claire?" (Yeah, yeah. Where's Claire?) she asked, using 'Claire' as a substitute for 'Clarice'.  _

"Clarice is out at the moment. Shall I tell her that you said '_marahaba_' to her?"

"_Na'am, shukran,_" (Yes, thank you.) she said while dodging an oncoming cyclist. 

"I'll be sure to let her know. I'll call you again later tonight when you're not so busy. Okay?" 

Jadis nodded. "_Biheyr. Ma'assalama,_" (Fine. Good bye.) she said. 

"_Ma'assalamauntil next time to you too." With that, Dr. Lecter hung up the phone and Jadis tucked away hers back into her pocket._

"Leaving?' she thought as she investigated a particularly eye-catching bracelet at one of the stalls. 'I didn't think that they would leave so soon." Making a mental note to herself to ask her father at least ten of the twenty questions that were swirling around inside her head at the moment, she set the bracelet back onto the small display and continued her walk in the sea of people. 

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_(A/N: Well, there's the first chapter and a little bit of my limited amount of knowledge of Arabic *sheepish grin*. I have about ten thousand ideas for this story and I'm determined to use them all, or at least the vast majority of them, so I think that I'm going to have some real fun with this one *evil grin*. Anyways, I'll try to have the next chapter up soon!)_

_-SP_


	2. Hidden Dangers

_(A/N: As always, thanks for the kind reviews! Well, onto chapter 2 we go!)_

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, except for the ones I've made up myself. Please don't sue me, I've got nothing! 

**Family Blood**

_Chapter 2: Hidden Dangers_

"_As-Salaam alaykum!_" (Peace be upon you!) the merchant at the stall greeted Jadis as she approached her favorite stall. 

"_Wa alakum as-Salaam!_" (And with you peace!) Jadis replied to the small, Arab man. "_Kayf halak?" (How are you?)_

The merchant grinned. "_Al-ham du lellah, shukan,_" (I'm fine, thank you.) he told her as Jadis scanned the shelves with her camouflaged, deep violet eyes. 

She didn't want to be here too long. Her father's phone call had put her on edge slightly. "_Ana ureed ishtaraiti ashra azrak sham'a minfadlik,_" (I want to buy ten blue candles please.) she told the merchant, trying to appear rushed. 

The merchant quickly found what she was looking for as she handed over the money. '_Shukran gazillan,_" (Thank you very much.) she told him as she gathered her purchases. 

"_Afwan, subik,_" (You're welcome, friend.) he cheerfully replied with a pleasant smile. "_Wada'an!" (So long!)_

"_Ma'assalama_!" (Good bye!) she briefly waved to him as she made her way back through the sea of people, heading home. She suddenly felt very exposed being out in the public, even if it was just the Cairo market. 

**********  

Nearby, hiding in the shadow of a currently vacant stall, a man watched the young woman with his cool grey eye. His other one was missing, unless if you count a glass eye as one as well. His recently dyed light brown hair and light, casual clothes made him seem nothing more than a tourist or a new addition to the city. He talked into a cell phone as he watched on.

"She was talking on a cell phone a couple seconds ago," he reported. "I'm pretty sure that it was Lecter she was talking to."

"Did you hear anything she said?" the man on the other end asked.

He shook his head. "She was speaking in Arabic so I had no idea what the hell they were talking about. But judging from how she reacted, whatever was said must have been a shock." A slight hesitation before continuing. "Do you think that they know?"  

A sigh from the other man. "I hope not, we've been waiting too damn long as it is to get this plan going for them to find out about us now. We better get everything underway tonight."

The man with the glass eye nodded his agreement. "Can't wait. What do you want me to do with her exactly?"

"I could care less. Just make sure that you don't kill her yet. I'll take care of Lecter and Starling." The man paused for a second before continuing. "Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for this?"

The other man grinned. "Do you have any idea how much I'm going to enjoy this?"

There was a laugh on the other end. "I can only imagine. Well, in any case, it's been a pleasure doing business with you Silversted."

Richard Silversted's grin grew wider. "Believe me, the pleasure is all mine."

With that, Silversted severed contacted with his associate and, being careful to stay out of her sight, followed Jadis Lecter through the crowds towards her home. 

***********

At the offices of Quantico, Special Agent Clint Pearsall lazily sifted through file after file about a current case which was rapidly nearing its end. They knew who the killer was, and they new exactly where he was. On top of that, they were planning to bring him down that very night. 

Feeling too bored to continue on with the repetitive papers and photos, Pearsall forced himself to avert his eyes from the table to the wall opposite of him. Photos and newspaper clippings of major unsolved cases stared back at him. Three photos in particular seemed to taunt him, the photographs of three people that still haunt him and everyone who was still working on the case. 

The pictures of Dr. Hannibal Lecter, former Special Agent Clarice M. Starling, and former Agent Jadis Rebecca Monroe/Lecter stared back at him. It was bad enough that two agents betrayed him and the rest of the Bureau, but running off with Lecter? Not to mention having his daughter right under your nose the whole bloody time. Talk about adding insult to injury. 

Oh yeah, they found out all about her. It took some digging, but they found out about her true identity. Starling was bad enough, but with a Lecter working as a FBI agent, the newspapers had a field day. The image of the FBI took a painful blow, almost making it a laughing stock of the government. But they were able to recover quickly, though it was still stained with these new developments in the Lecter case. 

A fourth picture also leered at Pearsall, though not as badly as the other three. They still haven't found Richard Silversted, or Chimera as his old alias identified him as. Sometimes he wondered if Silversted had run off with Lecter as well, but highly doubted it. Evidence at the scene of their last conflict highly ruled out this possibility.

Pearsall sighed. It was with cases like this that made him wish that Jack Crawford hadn't retired two years earlier.

Looking down at his watched, he guessed that he should be leaving for the night soon. He didn't need to be around when the other agents and police take down their current killer. He trusted them enough to easily apprehend him in no time, seeing as how it was highly unlikely that this criminal would case any major disturbance in the process. It was almost laughable at how easily the FBI and police had tracked him down. 

Picking up his coat, Pearsall looked forward to a long sleep as the phone rang. For a split second he considered not answering it, but gave in and picked up the receiver. 

"Yes?" he said into the phone.

"Agent Pearsall, I think that you may want to have a look at this tip we just received," a female voice informed him.

Pearsall sighed. "Elaine, can't this wait until tomorrow?"

"It's Lecter, sir. We know exactly where he and Starling are, evidence and all."

He was suddenly very wide awake. "I'll be right down Agent Parker."

Putting down the phone, he more or less ran to Section Chief Elaine Parker's office to see what she had.

***************

"So why are you guys leaving exactly?" Jadis asked her father over the phone, in English.

Looking over at Clarice, who was at the moment sipping a cup of coffee, Dr. Lecter answered, "Clarice and I felt that it would be wise for us to change our location, just to be on the safe side."

Jadis hesitated for a second. "Should I do the same thing?"

"Use your better judgment where you're concerned Jadis," Dr. Lecter replied. "Do you feel that it would be best for you if you did leave Cairo at this time?"

Another hesitation. "I need to think about that for a bit, but right off the top of my head I'd say I'm pretty safe here for now. Any ideas on where you two are going to go next?"

"We haven't really thought about it yet. However," he looked back at Clarice to see her reaction. "If Clarice doesn't have any objections, I would nominate either Greece or Paris."

Clarice's eyebrows shot up as she mouthed 'Paris?!' back at him. He could tell that she was pleasantly surprised at his suggestion. 

With a wink to Clarice, he spoke again to his daughter. "Judging by her expression, I'd say that we just settled on Paris for the time being."

On the other end Jadis let out a laugh. "Speaking of Clarice," she said in between chuckles. "Is it alright if I speak with her? I haven't talked to her in a bit after all."

Dr. Lecter motioned to a still astounded Clarice. "Of course, my dear," he said to the younger woman before handing over the phone to Clarice.

"Hey kid," Clarice greeted her friend as she sat down beside Dr. Lecter and rested her head on his shoulder. "How's it going?"

"Not bad I guess," Jadis replied. "So you're going to Paris I hear?"

Clarice grinned. "I believe so, unless Hannibal has any other more tempting ideas," she said while looking up at the doctor, amusement playing in both of their eyes. 

Jadis let out a little laugh again. "I'm sure that you two will-" she abruptly went silent.

The other woman sat up. "Jadis?" she said into the phone.

There was another beat of silence before Jadis finally spoke again. "I think someone's in here," she informed her in a hushed tone. 

Clarice thought that she heard the clicking of a gun cartridge being loaded over the phone. "I'm going to have to call you back," Jadis told her, still in a quiet voice. 

She looked at Dr. Lecter, who had curiosity glinting in his eyes. "Make sure you call us back as soon as possible," she said into the phone.

"I'll try," Jadis said as she hung up the phone. 

Clarice set her own back own onto the table. Looking at Dr. Lecter, she told him, "Someone broke into Jadis' house. She said that she'll try to call us back as soon as possible."

Dr. Lecter nodded. While he didn't doubt that his daughter can take care of herself, he had a really bad feeling about this. 

************************

Jadis set her cell phone back onto the small coffee table as silent as possible. She had heard heavy footsteps just outside in the hallway while she was talking with Clarice. With her trusty gun in hand, she carefully edged her way towards the sound. 

Looking out into the hall, she saw nothing that confirmed what she had heard. Moving onto the rest of the house, she came up with nothing. 

She shook her head. 'I must be hearing things,' she thought as she reached for the cell phone again, ready to call back Clarice and Dr. Lecter. 

Her hand never reached the phone. In a flash, a chloroform soaked cloth was covering her face and a strong arm kept her from struggling. It didn't take long for her to pass out into the arms of Richard Silversted.

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_(A/N: Hope you're enjoying it so far! I'm hoping to have the next chapter up in the next couple days.)_

_-SP _    


	3. History Repeats Itself

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, except for the ones I've made up myself. Please don't sue, I've got nothing!

**Family Blood**

_Chapter 3: History Repeats Itself_

Jadis tried to make herself as comfortable as possible in airplane seat. Her body still ached from what had happened the night before, but she tried desperately not to remember it. 

The rope burns on her wrists seemed to intensify in pain. Digging out a small bottle of lotion that she had purchased just before she left and rubbing some on the injuries, the memories that came with the burn threatened to flood back to her. 

'No,' Jadis scowled herself. 'Don't think about that. First things first, get to Buenos Aires, everything else comes second.'

She wanted to believe that, but images of what had happened flashed through her mind. All she could do was watch. 

~

Her eyes had fluttered painfully open as she was greeted with the site of her bedroom ceiling. She quickly registered that she was on her bed, judging by the soft feeling underneath her. Trying to move, she had quickly realized that her hands were tied over her head to the headboard. 

Jadis had tried to pull at the ropes, hoping that they would come loose, but to no avail. Defeated for now, she had started to form another plan of getting out when a voice interrupted her thoughts. 

"Looks like sleeping beauty is finally awake."

Her blood went ice cold. She knew that voice all too well. 

Her tone was calm, yet frigid when she spoke, "Silversted."

Jadis' nemesis allowed himself to be revealed to her. Her mother's murderer and the man who had wrecked Jadis' childhood, the man who had tried to kill both her and her father, the man who had tried to torture Clarice to death. And, at the moment, the man who had Jadis held captive in her own home. 

Silversted grinned, taunting her. "Is that any way to greet an old friend Jadis?"

If Jadis' maroon eyes were lasers, Silversted would have been vaporized right then and there.

Silversted didn't show any sign that he was deterred by it. He continued, "Well Lecter," he said, putting a mocking emphasis on her last name. "As much as I'd love to stay and chat, I'm on a slightly tight schedule."

Jadis could have sworn that she could have tasted the vomit that his cheery demeanor had evoked from her. "So does that mean that you'll just kill me quicker?" she asked, her voice low and threatening. 

Silversted chuckled. "You're too quick to judge, just like your father. In fact, you're a lot like Hannibal in many ways I find." 

That evoked another taste of vomit from her. The thought of Silversted comparing her to Dr. Lecter was sickening. She didn't mind it when others did, but Silversted was forbidden to in her book. 

He went on. "But at the same time, you're also a lot like your mother."

As his revolting grin grew wider, something finally clicked in Jadis' head. She now knew what he wanted to do to her. Lunging at him in fury, she was still held back by the ropes. 

Silversted did nothing more than chuckled. He was obviously enjoying the sight. "Now now Lecter, you'll get your go with me soon enough, though it'll be more like a case of history repeating itself than anything. Only difference this time is that you're the one on the bed instead of bleeding to death on the floor."

The chloroform soaked rag returned to Jadis' face. The last thing that she saw was Silversted's demonic smile.

~

Jadis held her head in her hands, long dark brown hair draping over her features. Just like what he did to her mother all those years ago right in front of her five year old eyes, Silversted had raped her while she was semi-conscious. 'He didn't want me to fight back,' she thought. Before he had left her, she had seen him talking into a cell phone. She didn't pick up much of the conversation, but she thought that she had heard the words 'Lecter', 'Starling', and 'on their way'. 

So now here she was, on her way to Buenos Aires. Her mind was a mess of emotions at the moment. Everything from hatred, to scared, to anger surged through her. 'How am I going to tell Clarice and Dr. Lecter?' Jadis thought, not knowing the answer. She couldn't go to the police, that was a given. The only people that she was safe to tell were her friend and her father. 'I'll deal with that once I get there,' she finally decided. 

Staring out of the small window, Jadis waited for what seemed like an eternity for the plane to touch down again in Argentina. 

****************

In a police office in Buenos Aires, Section Chief Elaine Parker of the FBI got off the phone with Pearsall. She had arrived in Argentina a few hours ago with a few other agents from Behavioral Sciences and had just finished talking to the police chief here. It had only taken a couple hours to confirm that, indeed, Clarice Starling and Hannibal Lecter had taken up residence here. It was only a couple more hours until they go in for the kill. 

Elaine grinned. She had been waiting for this for a long time. She can already see the headlines on the newspapers and news programs at home. 'Parker Solves One of FBI's Most Difficult Cases', 'Monster Finally Taken Down', 'The Doctor is In Forever, Thanks To Elaine Parker.' 

She had to force herself not to drool at the thought of the opportunities this could open up for her. 

"Miss Parker?" a man's voice snapped her back to reality.

"Yes Agent Lawrence?" she asked the young agent, annoyance hinting on her voice. 

Agent Lawrence seemed a little shaken by Elaine's reaction to him. "I'm sorry to bother you Miss Parker, but the officer here was wondering if we would need any more help or anything. What should I tell them?"

Elaine sighed. "Tell them thank you for the offer, but we have more than enough. If we think of anything, we'll call them."

Lawrence nodded before quickly walking back to report her answer. 

Leaning back into the plush chair, Elaine ran her hand through her short mahogany hair and grinned. She was looking forward to this very much.

*************

Jadis sped down the highway in the cheap rental car. She had seen police cars a couple miles behind her. She hoped to God that they weren't going where she thought they were. Just in case they were, she had taken a short cut and was now miles ahead of them. 

'Please don't let me be too late,' she thought desperately. 'Please please please let them still be there. Please don't let the Feds be there too.'

Jadis increased her speed, bent on getting to Dr. Lecter and Clarice as soon as possible. It felt like forever until their home was finally in sight. She didn't even bother turning off her car as she ran to the door and letting herself in. 

"Clarice! Dr. Lecter!" she yelled as she busted though the door, still hoping that they hadn't left yet.

Luck must have been on her side. Clarice came running out of the kitchen, quickly followed by Dr. Lecter. 

"Jadis," Clarice observed her friend's exhausted demeanor. "What the hell is going on?"

"There's Feds just up the road and they're coming this way. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that they're coming for you two."

Clarice and Dr. Lecter looked at each other. "I think that it's time to leave," the doctor said to her. 

She nodded. "I'll get the car started."

"You two won't have time to get out of here without getting caught," Jadis said as Clarice ran off to the car. "Unless something's here to greet them, they will find you before you can even get halfway to the airport." She hesitated. "If you two leave now and I give myself up you'll have a much better chance at making it out of here." 

Dr. Lecter ignored her suggestion for the moment. "Who was in your house last night?" he asked.

Jadis hesitated. She wasn't looking forward to this. "Silversted," she simply said. 

She looked at him, he looked straight back. She knew that her father was now reading her, she would never get used to it. But, for this situation, it was better for him to find out this way. 

When she saw his eyes widen slightly in realization, she knew that he had figured everything out. "He's still alive, isn't he?" he asked, although he knew the answer. 

Jadis nodded, her eyes falling to the floor. Hot tears stung in her eyes. 

"I fucking hate him," she whispered more to herself than anybody else. "I want that bastard dead for what he did. I hate him, I hate him, I hate him!" Salty tears rolled down her cheeks. She didn't know how it happened, but the next thing she knew she was crying into her father's shoulder, with him holding her close. 

"Hannibal? Jadis?" Clarice softly called out to them from the doorway. "I can hear the sirens, they're almost here. If we're going to leave, it's going to have to be now."

Jadis forced herself to regain her self-control. Pulling away from her father, she spoke quietly. "Go, I'll stay behind and give myself up." She sighed and, noting Clarice's surprised expression, added, "Even though it probably won't do any good, I'll tell you guys this anyway. Please don't try to come after me, at least not yet. Get yourselves out of here first." Looking at Dr. Lecter, she said, "I've already lost my mother, please don't make me lose my father and my friend too."

In the silence that followed, the sirens became rapidly louder. 

*****************

"Freeze! FBI!" Elaine shouted as she and other agents busted through the door. It was very dark inside, the only light being provided by the moon through the windows and the flashlights of a few agents. At the far end of the hallway stood a young woman who didn't even flinch when they made their entrance.

"Slowly put your hands up and identify yourself," Elaine ordered her. 

She took her time in complying. Her raised arms showed that she was unarmed. Clarice had told her where to find the guns if she needed them, but she had decided not to utilize them. She identified herself, "Former FBI Agent Jadis Lecter." 

She shut her eyes as she felt her hands being cuffed behind her. She listened intently, making sure that they don't try and go after Dr. Lecter and Clarice yet. As she was escorted out of the house and into a police car, she could only hope that they didn't track down the black Jaguar that was now making its way down the highway towards the airport.         


	4. The New Generation

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, except for the ones I've made up myself. Please don't sue!

**Family Blood**

_Chapter 4: The New Generation_

Pearsall and Elaine watched as the man standing in front of them squirmed with excitement. Elaine and her team had just returned from Buenos Aires with their catch in tow. Now, back at Quantico, she watched as the administrator of the newly reopened Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane waited nervously for the news that he so desperately wanted to hear. 

"Dr. Chilton," Pearsall spoke to him. "In a way, you are going to get what you wished for from us."

Dr. Nathan Chilton, nephew of the late Dr. Fredrick Chilton, raised an eyebrow. "In a way?" he repeated.

Elaine nodded. "That's right. You still get Lecter, but not the Lecter we had originally set out to capture." Handing him a piece of paper, she couldn't help but inwardly smirk at his surprised expression. 

"Jadis Lecter?" he gave them a look of disbelief. "You know that we don't take women into the hospital."

Pearsall held up a finger, as if to make a point. "We realize that Dr. Chilton, but I do believe that we're allowed to make an exception every once in a while. For one, she is Lecter's daughter. Add the fact that she's also a former Special Agent here, who knows how dangerous she is." He paused for a second, as if in thought, then continued. "Besides, if we make it known that she's being held at the hospital, both Lecter and Starling may try to get her out. We keep a constant watch around the area, and if we see them, Hannibal Lecter will be all yours. What do you say?"

Chilton looked upwards towards the ceiling, as if in deep thought. "I'll agree to this on one condition," he said in his own time, carefully planning his words. "Let me treat the girl like I would treat Lecter. Straitjacket, restraints, even the mask. That should hold me over until you give me what I really want. Like you said, she is Lecter's daughter after all." 

"Deal," Pearsall replied almost immediately. 

Shaking Pearsall's and Elaine's hands, a grin grew wide on Chilton's face. "It's been a pleasure doing business with you two."

When Dr. Chilton was out of sight Elaine turned to Pearsall. "That was almost too easy," she commented.

He sighed. "Can't disagree with you there Parker, but I'd say it's for the best." He looked at her, a serious look planted on his features. "Are you sure that this is going to work? We are taking a pretty big risk here."

Elaine grinned. "But at the same time we're killing two birds with one stone. Besides, if this does work, and it will, I promise you that, we close one of the most frustrating cases in FBI history and we get the joy of outsmarting Lecter. What more can you ask for?"

Pearsall shook his head. "I do hope you're right."

************

In a small, yet comfortable hotel room across town, a couple who under any other circumstances would have been somewhere like Paris or Italy by now were discussing a variety of topics, all concerning their survival. Dr. Lecter and Clarice were talking when something on the news perked their interest.

"In a manner of seconds," the female reporter said. "The Federal Bureau of Investigation will make a surprising announcement concerning one of their most well-known cases and one of the most notorious manhunts in their history. We go now live to the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane with Special Agent Clint Pearsall, Behavioral Sciences Section Chief Elaine Parker and the administrator of the hospital Dr. Nathan Chilton for this special announcement."

Clarice and Dr. Lecter looked at each other as the scenery of the news program changed to an office at the hospital. "Chilton?!" Clarice repeated, dumbfounded.

"A relative, I presume," Dr. Lecter simply said as he and Clarice looked back at the television set.

Clint Pearsall was speaking into the barrage of microphones and camera flashes. "First off we would like to thank you for coming out for this declaration. Although this is not a full closing of the case, this is one step closer to it. Late last night in Buenos Aires Elaine Parker," he indicated the woman standing next to him. "and her team of agents was set out to bring down two of America's most wanted fugitives. We regret to say that they captured neither Dr. Hannibal Lecter nor Clarice Starling, but instead brought down another wanted fugitive. That other fugitive was another former FBI agent and Lecter's daughter, Jadis Rebecca Lecter. I for one congratulate Miss. Parker on her accomplishment." 

A round of applause ensued amount the gathered press as Pearsall shook Elaine's hand and traded congratulatory words with her. Clarice had to fight to not throw the television set out of the window. 

Her former boss continued. "Even though they got away this time, I'm confident that Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling will be brought to justice very soon, with Agent Parker's help of course. And now," Pearsall indicated the man standing next to him. "I would like to invite Dr. Nathan Chilton to speak a few words on this momentous occasion."

"Momentous," Clarice repeated, disgust dripping on her voice as the camera focused on the young man dressed in a cheap brown suit.

"Thank you Agent Pearsall and especially Agent Parker for their hard work." With a smug smile, he continued into the cameras. "Ladies and gentlemen of the press, I'm proud to announce that Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane has recently admitted its first female convict." Chilton chuckled. "It's a little bizarre, isn't it? There's now a new generation of doctors and convicts gracing this hospital with their presence. I myself have followed in the noble footsteps of my uncle, the late and much missed Dr. Fredrick Chilton. And now, Jadis Lecter has followed in her father's footsteps and now has his old cell down in the basement corridors, while I have inherited my uncle's old office upstairs. Odd how fate works, don't you agree?"

Clarice's blood boiled at the mention of Fredrick Chilton's name. As the press conference concluded, she looked over at Dr. Lecter, ready to tell him the long and angry rant that was now on the tip of her tongue, when she saw that he seemed almost pleased with something.

"What's so amusing?" she asked, confused.

Dr. Lecter looked at her. "It seems that the new Dr. Chilton had said something that could be very useful to us."    


	5. Chats and Insults

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, except for the ones I've made up myself. 

**Family Blood**

_Chapter 5: Chats and Insults_

"You knew that this would happen, didn't you?" Silversted shook his head, amused. 

The other man grinned. "What can I say? It's a hell of a lot more fun this way."

Silversted chuckled. "You really are the master of manipulation, you know that?"

"It's a gift." The man's voice suddenly became serious. "Are you sure that they are in Baltimore too?"

Silversted nodded. "Followed them here myself. I think that they're starting to get a little too predictable, don't you think?"

The other man nodded. "They can be that way once you get them figured out, especially Starling I found. But I wouldn't underestimate them just yet."

"So when do we get going on this again?" Silversted was starting to get impatient.

"Soon hopefully. Depends on what Lecter and Starling decide to do next." The man chuckled. "I'm sure that, whatever it is they decide to do, it'll be quite entertaining to say the least."

**************

In her father's old cell in the basement of Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, Jadis Lecter tried hard not to fidget in the uncomfortable straitjacket as the guard put on the face mask. She forced back a cough at the smell of the dreadful thing as it slipped onto her face.

'How did Dr. Lecter ever put up with this?' Jadis thought.

On the other side of the glass barrier, Dr. Nathan Chilton savored the sight of the young Jadis being bound like a madman. He wondered what he would do to her once he had Hannibal Lecter. He'd like to keep her, for anything, as a trophy. His first Lecter. Plus, he rather enjoyed looking at her just for her beauty. He grinned to himself, making a mental note to himself to keep the surveillance tapes of her when he retires.  

With Jadis firmly secured, Chilton told the guards to go away for about ten minutes. He wanted to have a private chat with her. Stepping into the cell, the first thing that hit him was just how tiny the cell actually was. The second thing that hit him was the feeling of Jadis' piercing maroon eyes watching his every move. 

Chilton faced the woman and cleared his voice. "Good day Lecter, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Dr. Nathan Chilton, the administrator of this hospital, and your keeper." He grinned at her.

A rancid taste filled Jadis' mouth. Chilton's cocky demeanor made her sick to her stomach.

Chilton went on, leaning closer in towards her. "In case you didn't know, my uncle was the one who kept your father in here all those years ago. Coincidence? I think not. Fate can be a wonderful thing, don't you agree Lecter?" His repulsive grin grew wider.

Jadis narrowed her eyes, trying hard not to vomit at the smell of Chilton's hot breath on her exposed face. "Dr. Fredrick Chilton," she said, her voice low and measured. "According to my father, all he was ever good for was for stocking a fridge, though I suspect that his heart must have tasted quite bland. Don't you agree Chilton?"

She had to fight to not laugh at the look the appeared on Chilton's face. 'This could be more fun than I thought,' she told herself in her head.

Chilton's face twisted into one of fury. "You bitch!" he hissed at her before striking her hard on the face with his fist. 

Jadis didn't know what bothered her more. The sharp, but quickly passing pain of Chilton's fist or the spit that had hit her face when he spoke. 

Chilton decided that he'd had enough of her for today. Storming out of the cell and slamming the door behind him, he yelled to the guards that he was finished. His glare was always upon her as she was unbound from her restraints and locked inside the cell. 

"One more thing Lecter," Chilton told her. "Someone from the FBI's going to be interviewing you tomorrow morning."

With that, he left Jadis alone in the cell. She wiped the spit off of her face with the sleeve of the blue prison uniform and sat down on the hard cot. She felt unwanted eyes watching her. Looking across the hall, another prisoner, an old and overweight man, was sitting on the floor leaning on the bars, plainly staring at her. Jadis went as far as she could into the corner as she pulled up her legs to her chest, wanting to get out of his line of sight. Hiding her face in her arms, tears silently fell from her bloodshot maroon eyes. 

'Guilty by association,' she thought bitterly. 'That's the only reason why I'm here. I'm the cannibal's daughter.'

She wished so hard that she could escape the unrelenting gaze of the man across from her, the constant surveillance of the camera above her, the never-ending mental undressing of Nathan Chilton, and the hated closeness of the cell's cold walls all around her. 

'May this place burn,' she thought angrily, 'I want to be with Clarice and my father again. I want to go back to Cairo and be Lilith again. I want to help my father cook Chilton for dinner. I want to kill Silversted. Damn it! I want to go home!'

The young Lecter never felt so angry and helpless in her entire life.

*******************

"Okay, thanks Dr. Chilton," Pearsall said before hanging up the phone. Elaine was sitting on the other side of his desk, waiting patiently for Pearsall to finish his conversation with Chilton.

"Well?" she asked once he had hung up the phone. 

"Lecter's all settled in," he reported. "Chilton had a little talk with her and from what he told me it didn't go very well for him."

Elaine raised a brow. "Meaning..."

"According to him all she would say was an insult about his uncle and that's it."

Elaine nodded. "So we're sending our agent in tomorrow morning?"

Pearsall nodded. "At nine in the morning Chilton has him booked for." Pearsall hesitated. "I really don't like the idea of sending him in there to interview Lecter."

"Why not? He's more than qualified to, one of our best agents by far."

"And he's also the brother of Paul Krendler," Pearsall said a little more forcefully. "Have you forgotten what her father did to Paul two years ago Elaine? What if he goes after Matthew next?"

"Agent Pearsall," Elaine said while standing up. "I assure you that no harm will come to him. We'll keep a few other agents around him for protection if it'll make you feel any better."

Pearsall shook his head. "No, that's okay Parker. It's just that I'm a little paranoid about this whole situation."

Elaine gave him a kind smile. "I understand, Agent Pearsall."

With that, she left Pearsall alone with his thoughts.    


	6. The Truth Hurts

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, except for the ones I've made up myself.

**Family Blood**

_Chapter 6: The Truth Hurts_

A young man followed Dr. Nathan Chilton to the dungeons below. He wasn't looking forward to this at all. But he had no choice. He was forced into doing this by his superiors.

"Do you know how long you'll be?" Chilton asked him.

The young man shrugged. "However long it takes I guess." He responded while running a hand nervously through his short dirty blonde hair. "It shouldn't be long if she decides to cooperate. If not, it may be a while."

Chilton didn't seem to be too interested. Instead he hurried along to the basement, acting like he'd rather be somewhere else. "Don't expect her to cooperate," he muttered. "That bitch may be pleasing to the eye, but after you talk to her you'll want to rip out that tongue of hers and infuse that mask onto her face for all eternity."

The man shook his head. He defiantly sensed some hostility towards the young woman from Chilton.

"Her cell's down there," Chilton pointed down the hallway. "I assume that you know the rules?"

The other man nodded. "Yes, Agent Parker had explained them to me back at Quantico. Thanks."

Chilton nodded before heading back upstairs to his office, leaving the man alone with the orderly and two guards. He nodded a brief hello to them before making his way down the hallway of cells. 

'Stay down the middle,' he mentally reminded himself while trying hard not to look into the other cells around him. He sped up his pace slightly, eager to get this over with. He tightly held onto the file in his hand, determined not to drop it down here.  

He finally reached her cell. She was sitting on the cot, knees held up to her chest, staring at the wall beside her. The first thing that really stuck out for him was the large scar on her right cheek. The next thing was her depressing demeanor. 

He cleared his throat, a little reluctant to speak. "Jadis Lecter?"

She looked at him, her haunting maroon eyes briefly scanning over him and finally coming to rest on his face. "Yeah?" she asked, her voice quiet and emotionless.

"Jadis Lecter, I'm Special Agent Matthew Krendler. May I speak with you?"

He watched as she tilted her head, an action eerily similar to her father. Matthew repressed a shudder.

"Krendler?" Jadis inquired. "As in Paul Krendler?" 

Matthew nodded. "That's right. Paul was my older brother."

Jadis raised an eyebrow. "Is a convention of my father's victim's relatives in town this week or something? First Chilton and now you." She shook her head. "Now we just need Mason Verger's cousin and Raspail's mother and we'll be all set." She rolled her eyes as she stood up to face him eye to eye. 

She looked over Matthew again. He seemed to be about her age, in the late twenties. He stood almost two inches taller than her. Surprisingly though, he bore very little resemblance to his deceased older brother, both in his appearance and in his attitude. Jadis once had the displeasure of meeting Paul Krendler when she was still in training. He was giving a speech to her class at Quantico about the Justice Department and what they do. She forced back a yawn at the memory of that monotonous noise that was supposed to be a speech. She could have sworn that she had fallen asleep in the middle of it. Afterwards she had briefly met him as he was chatting with the students. All she really remembered was that Paul's eyes were anywhere on her but her face. She shuddered inwardly at the memory.

Matthew reluctantly decided to speak again. "Miss. Lecter," he said, not sure of what to call her by. "The FBI would like your help."

Jadis raised an eyebrow. "I'm not going to be bait for catching Clarice and my father, Krendler."

He shook his head. "No, not at all. It concerns Richard Silversted." He put the file into the carrier and sent it through to her. "In exchange for your help in taking him down, we'll let you out of here forever. Right now you're only in here because of your father, you know. Help us, and we'll help you. What do you say?"

Jadis didn't even look at the file yet. She remained extremely skeptical of the offer. 'There's no way in hell the Feds would let me out off the hook,' she thought to herself. 

"And if I disagree?" she asked him. 

Krendler sighed. "If you disagree, you'll be spending a long time down here. It would be in your best interest to take the offer."

Unknown to him, Jadis was mentally calculating how long it would take Dr. Lecter and Clarice to get her out of here. She didn't want to see Silversted behind bars, she wanted to kill him herself. Maybe even let her father throw a little dinner party afterwards also. On top of that, she defiantly didn't trust the FBI to just let her go. 

Matthew shifted from one foot to the other nervously. Her haunting maroon eyes gave him the creeps whenever she looked at him. In the corner of his mind he wondered what his brother would do in his position.

'Probably drool over her legs and come on to her,' he thought bitterly. Matthew had always disapproved of his older brother's attitudes towards women, especially after the way he had treated his own wife. Because of the tarnished image Paul had provided, Matthew had been determined to be completely opposite to him in every way. It was the reason why he had decided to go into Behavioral Sciences instead of Justice Department where Paul used to work.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Matthew took the opportunity to speak again. "At least have a look at the file Lecter. I'll come back later to hear your decision."

As he turned to walk away, Jadis' voice stopped him. "One more thing, Krendler."

Matthew closed his eyes and sighed. He just wanted to get out of here as soon as possible. Turning to face the young woman once more, he swallowed down the urge to just ignore her and go home.

Jadis was glad when he decided to listen to her. There was a question that had been bugging her ever since this interview started. "How do you feel about you brother's demise, Agent Krendler?" she asked.

Matthew blinked in surprise. He wasn't prepared for that. "Well," he managed to stutter out. "I obviously feel a little saddened about it..."

"A little?" Jadis tilted her head again, causing her resemblance to her father to really stand out.

Matthew realized what he had just revealed to her. He sighed before speaking again. "Paul and I never really got along. There was always some tension between us I guess you could say. The truth is," he shook his head, "I was almost relieved when I found out he had been killed." He found it hard to admit the truth, it had sounded so evil to his ears.

Jadis seemed to be amused. "Relieved? Matthew," she called him by his first name, "trust me, a lot of people were relieved when Paul had died. I was unfortunate enough to have met him once before he was killed. In my humble opinion, he had it coming." She gave him a surprisingly kind smile. "So don't feel bad about your feelings towards him. I most certainly wouldn't."

Matthew slowly backed away, suddenly feeling even more uncomfortable. "I have to go now Lecter," he told her. "I'll be back later to hear your answer."

With that, he more or less jogged down the corridor and out of the dungeons, just wanting to get out of there.

Jadis grinned. 'That was fun,' she thought to herself. 'Who would have thought that the truth could scare people so badly?'

Sitting back down on the cot, she eyed the file Matthew had sent through to her, with no intention of looking at it. 

*********************

Later that day a plain white van sat a little ways away from where Jadis was being kept. Inside the vehicle Clarice and Dr. Lecter went over their plans one last time before putting them into action. 

Checking her trusty gun, Clarice stole a glance over to the old building. "I never thought that I would be back here again," she commented.

Dr. Lecter nodded. "Likewise," he agreed. Looking over at her, he asked, "Are you sure that you can remember your way around inside there?"

Clarice grinned. "It's kinda hard to forget Hannibal. You of all people should know that."

"Touché," he remarked.

A few minutes were spent in silence as Dr. Lecter drove the van a little farther down the street, nearer to the entrance of the hospital. Stopping about a building away from the tall building, he looked over to Clarice once again. "Ready?" he simply asked her.

Clarice looked over to him. "Ready as I'll ever be," she responded.

The two exited the van and, at a steady pace, made their way to the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. 


	7. Escape Plan

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, except for the ones I've made up myself.

**Family Blood**

_Chapter 7: Escape Plan _

Jadis set the file back down onto the desk. It had been almost five hours since Matthew's visit. During that time she had briefly looked through the file, just out of mere curiosity. Nothing too impressive she had thought. 

Sighing, she returned to the cot and regained the posture that she had been in when he had first saw her. 'Damn it Dr. Lecter and Clarice,' she yelled out in her mind. 'Where the hell are you two?' 

*******************

Dr. Lecter walked casually into the hospital where his daughter was being kept. It felt a little strange to be walking free inside the very place that had held him prisoner for eight years of his life. He had long ago promised himself that he would never return here, but there are some exceptions to the rule. 

Walking over to the admittance desk, no one recognized him in his simple disguise which consisted of blue contacts and a simple black business suit. It was almost laughable how simple his disguise was and the police all around him didn't even give him a second glance. Confidently walking up to the desk, he reached into his pocket to retrieve something. 

The bored woman behind the desk looked up from her computer screen where her game of solitaire was being played. "Good afternoon sir," she said, a fake but friendly smile plastered onto her face. "How may I help you?"

Dr. Lecter held up a fake, yet extremely real looking badge. "I'm Agent Colin Anderson from the FBI. Dr. Nathan Chilton wanted to see me at this time."

The woman nodded. "Alright Agent Anderson, Dr. Chilton's office is on the second floor. His secretary will admit you in. Have a good day sir."

"Likewise to you," Dr. Lecter responded as he tucked the badge away. Walking away, he almost had to laugh at how easy it was to fool her. Instead of the elevator, he headed towards the stairs. There was no one around this area. Making sure that he was safely out of sight, instead of climbing up the stairs he slipped into one of the few doors.

In the room was many television sets with black and white pictures showing various areas of the hospital. In front of it all was a single security guard who had just registered Dr. Lecter's presence. Turning around, the unfortunate guard was met with a chloroform soaked rag to his face. In seconds he was out like a light. 

A couple simple button pushes later and the security cameras were turned off.

********************

Meanwhile, Clarice in her own disguise of brown contacts, a bulging black purse, casual clothes and a baseball cap that hid her hair slipped unnoticed passed the admittance desk and headed at a steady pace towards the stairs. She didn't have to wait long to rendezvous with Dr. Lecter. He was just coming out of the security camera room when Clarice walked by. He fell easily into step beside her. 

"They're out I presume?" she asked him in a hushed voice.

"Except for the ones down in the basement, yes," he answered in an equally hushed tone. The night before when they were planning this they had decided that stealth was the way to go for this. The general opinion was that if they went in and used force they would be as good as captured. Just easily slip in and slip out was the plan. Part of that plan was to turn off the security cameras, which was now done.

Clarice and Dr. Lecter made their way towards the basement, a path that had been long ago burned into Clarice's mind. A quick flash of deja-vu struck her as Dr. Lecter unlocked one of the doors leading down there with the key he had grabbed off the security guard. Images of coming down here for the first time with Dr. Fredrick Chilton as a trainee officer for the FBI to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter... She was brought back into the real world by the clicking sound of the door unlocking.

Beyond it was a young orderly and two guards, one of whom was sleeping face down on the desk. The ones that were awake had their backs to the door, watching a basketball game on a television with great interest. The noise from it had drowned out the sound of the lock coming undone. Behind the sleeping officer more televisions, this time security camera footage of the dungeons in the basement glowed silently. 

From the other side of the slightly open door Dr. Lecter handed Clarice another chloroform soaked rag. She in turn reached into her purse and pulled out a needle and vial of clear liquid and handed it to Dr. Lecter, who tucked it away into one of his pockets. In his other hand was a rag as well.

Silently, the two snuck up behind the mesmerized orderly and guard and, before they could even sense the new presence in the room, shoved the chloroform drenched rags in their faces, rendering them unconscious. 

As Dr. Lecter got the contents of the vial into the needle, Clarice ditched the rags into a smaller pouch inside her purse. "Man," she commented, "I never thought chloroform could be so handy."

Dr. Lecter injected the sleeping guard with the contents of the needle, making sure that he would stay that way for the duration of their brief stay there. "You learn to utilize chloroform in many ways when you're a fugitive," he responded to her comment as she unlocked the door to the cells. "You remember which cell it is?"

Clarice looked over at him. "How could I forget?" she told him before disappearing down the corridor. Dr. Lecter stayed behind to keep watch. 

Clarice practically flew down the corridor, desperate to not relive her first trip down here. She forced herself not to think about that now. 'Besides,' she told herself in her mind, 'there's no more Miggs to walk pass anymore.'

Finally reaching the cell, Clarice looked in to find Jadis on the cot, staring at the wall opposite of her, the same position that Matthew Krendler had first seen her in a few hours before. Clarice knocked on the glass barrier. "Hey kid!" she called out to her.

Becoming aware of her friend's presence, Jadis jumped to her feet. "Where the hell were you?!" she asked excitedly, half joking and half serious. 

Clarice grinned while using the keys she had gotten off the orderly to unlock the tiny cell. "Desperate to get out of here I take it?" she jokingly asked the young woman.

Jadis waited eagerly for the door to open. "No shit Sherlock! If I spend one more minute in here I truly will go insane," she responded as the door finally flew open. 

Clarice handed her the purse. "There are some clothes in there you can wear. I think that it would case some suspicion to see one of the inmates running around free in here," she said.

Jadis seemed a little hesitant. Following her gaze across the hall, Clarice could see why. Reaching underneath her jacket, she took out her gun and pointed it at the staring prisoner that had barely taken his eyes off of Jadis since she had arrived here a day ago. "Look away or you get another hole in your face," Clarice threatened.

It worked. The man looked away out of fear of the woman with the big gun and Jadis quickly changed into the black tank top and green cargo pants in privacy. As she gratefully walked out of her father's old cell she was putting her long dark hair in a ponytail with an elastic Clarice had provided. "Thanks for coming after me," she told her.

Clarice grinned. "Call it returning the favor. Now come on."

With that, the two women ran back down the corridor and met up with Dr. Lecter again. Jadis grinned. "Good to see you again," she said to her father.

"Same to you Jadis," he responded before following them calmly out of the door.  

Retracing the steps that two of them had taken just minutes earlier, no one noticed the three individuals walking casually through the hospital on their way out, with the exception of one man near the elevator behind them. 

He talked into a tiny microphone in his sleeve. "Yeah, they're on their way out the front door."

The three fugitives walked through the doors to the outside world. Their freedom was short lived however. Once out on the street from behind them a team of police and agents tackled them to the ground. Recovering from the surprise, there was a little struggle from the three as Elaine Parker held out her gun at them. "Hannibal Lecter, Clarice Starling and Jadis Lecter, you're all under arrest," she almost sneered at them. She couldn't hold back a smile of pride from appearing on her face as three of America's Most Wanted were shoved into separate police cars. 

As they sped away, Elaine silently muttered to herself, "Halfway there." She know only hoped that the other half of the plan will go off without a hitch. 

Instead of the police station as they would normally go, this time the police cars made their way to Quantico.


	8. Deals With the Devil

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, except for the ones I've made up myself.

**Family Blood**

_Chapter 8: Deals With the Devil_

Clarice watched the passing scenery through the police car window. It took her a while to figure it out, but she now knew where they were taking her and her companions. "Quantico?!" she thought in disbelief. "Why the hell are we going there?"

As the building where she spent a great deal of her career in, an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach got worse. 

********************

Elaine rolled her eyes as the livid man on the other end of the phone practically screamed at her. 

"What the fucking hell do you mean that I don't get him?!" Nathan Chilton was infuriated. 

Elaine fought to keep her cell phone steady in the moving car. "I said that you won't get him yet, Dr. Chilton. We have some business that we would like to take care of first. After that's finished, we'll give him to you."

Chilton wasn't convinced. "You fucking used me, didn't you? You knew that they would come after the girl!"

"Dr. Chilton, we had no choice. It had to be done." She hesitated. "If it makes you feel any better, we'll give you a reward for your cooperation. Consider it the FBI's apology."

That seemed to calm him down a bit. "What kind of reward are we talking about Agent Parker?"

Elaine bit her lip before replying, "We're talking about thirty thousand in reward money."

Chilton was silent for a few seconds. "Deal," he said. "But you guys better keep your promise."

Elaine nodded. "You have the FBI's word on it Dr. Chilton. Thank you for your cooperation."

She didn't even listen to his last few words as she hung up the phone. As they drove into the parking lot of Quantico, Elaine watched the three cars that held her catch park near the entrance.

********************

One by one, the three fugitives were ushered through the hallways of Quantico. Always handcuffed and surrounded by guards, they were led into an office that had the look of an interrogation room. It was large and dimly lighted with a table with four chairs situated around it, three on one side and the last on across from them on the other side of the table. With Dr. Lecter in the middle, the three were placed in the chairs. Clarice and Jadis' former boss, Clint Pearsall, sat down at the fourth chair. Elaine Parker stood beside him. About ten guards stood at watch all around them.

A few minutes were spent in uncomfortable silence as the individuals observed each other, trying to calculate each other's next move. The already heavy tension in the air became thicker as the silence continued on. 

Almost reluctantly, Pearsall broke the lingering stillness. "Good to see you two again, Starling and -" he briefly paused, not sure of what to call the other former agent of his. "Jadis," he finally decided on.

"Agent Pearsall," Clarice replied. Jadis just kept on glaring at him.

Pearsall hesitated before addressing the third person in front of him. "Dr. Lecter," he simply said, not sure of what else to say. 

The doctor just nodded and kept his piercing maroon eyes on him, much to Pearsall's discomfort.

Pearsall quickly indicated the woman beside him. "I'm sure you all have already met Special Agent Elaine Parker."

Elaine wasted no time in getting down to business. "We're willing to make a deal with you three. We need your cooperation in tracking down a killer."

At that, Dr. Lecter tilted his head and said, "The FBI needs the help of some of America's Most Wanted? My, you must be really getting desperate."

Pearsall spoke up. "We are," he agreed. "Jadis has already heard this deal when we sent one of our agents down to talk to her earlier today. In exchange for your help with this case, all three of you will be granted your freedom for the time being. The FBI won't look for you or arrest you for a certain time period as long as none of you do anything illegal. What do you say?"

"How would we know that you guys will keep your end on the deal?" Jadis growled.

Pearsall sighed. "You'll just have to trust us," he simply said.

Clarice wasn't convinced. "The last time I trusted the FBI I was stabbed in the back and almost lost my job. The Bureau doesn't have a very good record at keeping their promises."

Her former boss clenched his teeth. "We realize that Starling, and we apologize for any wrong doing done onto you. However, I assure you that it was necessary in most cases."

"Oh bullshit!" Clarice almost leaped out of her chair. "You call turning a blind eye to Krendler slipping poison into my file and records 'necessary'? What if we turned down your offer?"

Elaine spoke up once again. "Then all three of you will be put under arrest. Dr. Lecter, you would be sent back to the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane and spend the rest of your days in your cell. Starling and Lecter, you two would be sent off to separate maximum security women's prisons for life. You three would never see each other again, nor see the light of day again." Elaine seemed to enjoy describing their would be fate a little too much for their liking. 

Pearsall looked at the three. "It would be in your best interests in accepting this offer."

Dr. Lecter asked, "If we were to accept, whom would we be attempting to track down Agent Pearsall?"

"Richard Silversted, otherwise known as Chimera. I'm sure all three of you have already encountered him. He's making a comeback, already killed two people. We know it's him because he seemed to have trouble giving up his old signature. We've ruled out the possibility of a copy cat killer, and we have DNA evidence proving that it's him." As he said this, Pearsall took out a few photos and showed the trio. Sure enough, across each of the victim's stomachs, was that telltale brail signature of 'Chimera'.  

Pearsall went on. "We have yet to track him down. It's almost as if he just disappears from the face of the earth. We're hoping with your help that we'll put a stop to him and put him away forever. So, what do you say?"

Dr. Lecter, Clarice, and Jadis all exchanged a look with each other. None of them trusted the FBI to keep their word, but at the same time they knew that they were trapped for now. Either they agree and have a chance at freedom once again, or go back into custody and possibly never have that freedom ever again. 

None of them would ever forgive themselves for what they had done next. "Well then," Dr. Lecter spoke for all three of them. "When do we start?"

Elaine and Pearsall looked at each other, looks of surprise and triumph plastered on their features. A little reluctantly, Elaine nodded at one of the guards. He stepped forward and, one by one, unlocked the trio of fugitives from their restraints. Pearsall hesitantly held out his hand and, although they still looked upon him with great discontent, shook each of their hands.

"Thank you for your cooperation," he told them.

Dr. Lecter, Clarice, and Jadis felt like they just made a deal with the devil himself. 


	9. Unwilling Alliances

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, except for the ones I've made up myself.

**Family Blood**

_Chapter 9: Unwilling Alliances_

"I really don't like this," Jadis repeated for the umpteenth time that day. 

Clarice sighed, "Neither do we, but what choice do we have?"

Dr. Lecter and the two women were in a heavily guarded hotel room. Pearsall had told them that they were going to get started the next day and suggested that they could use some sleep. The whole floor of a hotel had been closed off, both for their safety and the safety of the other visitors. Jadis had her own room while Dr. Lecter and Clarice shared one together. At the moment, however, Jadis was in there room as well. There were some things that they needed to talk about amongst themselves. Luckily the guards stayed out in the hallway, granting them some privacy. 

Jadis grumbled something underneath her breath to herself in grudging acceptance.

Dr. Lecter took the opportunity to speak up. "I'm just as skeptical of this offer as you two are, but at least we have a chance at getting away from this with our freedom and our lives. The trickiest party of this whole situation, in my humble opinion, will be trying to slip away without someone from the FBI or the press on our tail."

He was right. No sooner had they been captured had the press been all over them and the FBI. Now someone found out that the trio had agreed to help the FBI in exchange for freedom. The press ate it up instantly. 'Cannibal Allowed to Roam Free' was the headline on every news station that night. To make matters worse, just about every reporter from the state and surrounding states had been hounding the hotel and Quantico, following every move made by the small group of fugitives. In all, it was like the Superbowl of the press, everyone pushing and desperate for that elusive prize.

Clarice started to paced back and forth. "There's no way in hell the Bureau would just let us go. Trust them to make a bullshit promise like that." Clarice shook her head. "Manipulative bastards," she muttered more to herself than anyone else in the room.

Jadis rubbed her temple with her index and middle fingers, trying to sooth a slowly growing headache from the whole situation. Dr. Lecter's face remained emotionless, but there was a slight hint of frustration playing in his eyes. Clarice continued pacing, deep in thought. The next few days were promising to be very long for all three of them.

************************

"Welcome to your first day on the job," greeted an unusually perky Elaine Parker. The three had just arrived at Quantico that morning, obviously not looking forward to today. At the moment they were in Pearsall's office awaiting the briefing that Elaine and Pearsall were supposed to give them prior to getting to work. The two agents had told the guards to go back to their normal duties around Quantico. Someone else was going to take over their positions. 

Pearsall pressed a button on his phone and spoke into the receiver, "Yeah, send them in Carl," he said to his assistant on the other end. Looking back at the trio, he said, "Alright you guys, meet you new guards."

No sooner had he said this when the door to his office opened and four people walked in. Clarice blinked at the sight of one particular woman. "Ardelia?!" she almost whispered.

Clarice's former roommate, Ardelia Mapp, looked over at her old friend. "Starling," she simply said in greeting, emotionless.

Jadis nodded in small greeting to one of the men. "Good to see you again Matthew," she said, half mockingly.

Matthew tried hard not to meet eyes with the young woman that he had just met the day before in the dungeons of Baltimore.

Pearsall cleared his throat, getting everyone's attention. "I see some of you already know each other, so hopefully that'll make it easier for all of us. Special Agent Ardelia Mapp is going to be Starling's personal guard for the duration of your stay here. Special Agent Matthew Krendler, you'll be Jadis Lecter's guard. Dr. Lecter," Pearsall turned his full attention to him. "Considering that we're the most concerned about you, we've assigned Agents Nikki Vermont and Jason Lawrence to both be your guards. I hope that you'll understand Doctor."

Dr. Lecter nodded. "I fully understand, Agent Pearsall," he simply said.

Nikki and Jason looked at each other, both a little nervous at their new assignment. Nikki had shoulder length blond hair, hazel eyes, and was fairly muscular. Jason had short light brown hair and brown eyes and stood about an inch higher than Nikki. In all, the two looked like they could hold themselves in a fight.

Dr. Lecter looked over at the two agents. "Pleasure to meet your acquaintances," he greeted the young agents. They simply replied with a slight nod.

Pearsall continued on. "As well as them, for all three of you Section Chief Elaine Parker will be personally assisting you in this investigation. If there are any questions or problems, please let either me or Agent Parker know. Are there any questions at the moment for either of us?"

When the three didn't respond, Pearsall decided to go on. "Okay then, if you all will please follow me, I'll show you where you'll be working."

The group made their way down the hallways of Quantico, passing a few curious glances of employees along the way. Everyone generally kept their distance from the group, mostly out of fear of the cannibal that walked among them. Clarice and Jadis noticed a few familiar faces and occasionally nodded a small hello at a couple of their former colleagues as they passed. 

Pearsall finally got them to a halt when they had reached their final destination. Clarice immediately recognized it as her old office, although it had long been almost totally stripped bare, save for the desk and a few other pieces of furniture. "Never thought I'd be back in here again," Clarice silently commented. 

Pearsall either didn't hear Clarice's comment or just didn't pay any attention to it. "Welcome back to your old office Starling. This is where you guys will be working. All the information that you'll need are in the file cabinet back there." He reached into his pocket and set three packages onto the desk. "Those are some stuff that you'll need around here. ID cards, cell phones, the works." He hesitated slightly before continuing. "Starling and Lecter," he addressed the two women. "You two are now temporarily reinstated into the FBI. Doctor, it took some doing but I managed to nab you a temporary status as an Agent as well. All of you are going to need this status to have all the access that you'll need in this investigation."  

As he was saying this, the trio were looking over their temporary IDs. Clarice was reminded of the ID that Jack Crawford had given her all those years ago when they were working on the Buffalo Bill case. 

Jadis let out a small amused chuckle. "Special Agent Jadis R. Lecter." She shook her head. "Never thought I'd see that title in my lifetime." Observing the picture, she noticed that they had used the same picture on this one as they did on her old one when she was still under the alias of Jadis Monroe. Looking over at Clarice's, she noticed that they did the same thing with hers too.

Dr. Lecter raised an eyebrow. "The Bureau couldn't find a better photo Agent Pearsall?" he commented. His photo was the same as the one that was one the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List.

Pearsall shrugged. "We didn't have access to a better one Doctor," he replied. Addressing the whole group once again, he asked, "Are there any questions?"

Not getting a reply, he motioned to Elaine to come with him. "Alright then," he said to the group, "let's get to work. Good luck."

******************************

When out of earshot of the group, Pearsall talked to Elaine in the hallway. "Are you sure that this is a good idea?" he asked her. "What if they found out about our plan, they're already getting suspicious I'd say."

Elaine gave him a reassuring look and said, "Don't worry Agent Pearsall. Like I told you before, it will work. Once they help us catch Silversted, we'll just haul them away to jail, no questions asked."

Pearsall shook his head. "I just have a really bad feeling about this Parker. Promise me that you'll keep a constant eye on them. If they even shed a hair I want to know about it. Got it?"

Elaine nodded. "You have my word on it sir. I won't let them out of sight, I promise."

Giving up, Pearsall walked back to his office. "I still have a really bad feeling about this," he muttered to himself as he went. 

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_(A/N: Kay, I know that it might be going a little slow at this point, but I promise that it'll pick up in the next couple of chapters. Anyways, thanks for all the wonderful reviews!)_

_-SP_       


	10. Settling In

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, except for the ones I've made up myself.

**Family Blood**

_Chapter 10: Settling In_

Clarice poured herself a cup of hot coffee from the coffee machine in the cafeteria of Quantico, always under the watchful eye of Ardelia Mapp. Clarice truly didn't like the look upon her old friend's face, one of distrust and disgust. Trying to break the ice, Clarice asked her, "You want a cup too 'Delia?" 

Ardelia gave her a venomous look. "No," she simply answered. 

Clarice couldn't take it anymore. "Look 'Delia," she faced her old roommate, a determined look on her face. "I'm sorry if I scared you when I went away, and I'm sorry if I hurt you. Trust me, I didn't mean to, I honestly didn't. But-"

"But what Clarice?" Ardelia finally snapped. "When you went missing I had to lead the investigation at Silversted's home. Do you have any idea what I went through when I found out that you were there? Do you have any idea how upset I was when I found out that Lecter was there too? I thought that he had killed and eaten you!"

"But he didn't," Clarice countered.

"Yeah, instead I find out that you had run away with him," she said, her voice dripping with disgust. "God Clarice, did you honestly think that I wouldn't feel even a little betrayed by that? If you were having problems you could have come to me or even give Crawford a called, but instead you turned to a cannibal!"

"'Delia," Clarice sighed, trying to think of something, anything, that could calm her friend down. "Listen, if I knew that you could have helped me then I would have turned to you, but I couldn't. No one except Dr. Lecter could help me. It's hard to explain, but trust me," she emphasized the next part, "if I didn't go to him for help, more than likely I would have shot myself long ago. Ardelia, I had to get away from here. It was destroying me and I was too stubborn to accept that fact. Plus," her voice softened significantly, "there was another reason for my decision of going with Dr. Lecter, one that I don't think that you'd understand right now."

Ardelia seemed to soften slightly, but just slightly. "And what would that other reason be Clarice?"

She hesitated, not sure of how Ardelia was going to react to this. "What can I say Ardelia, I love him."

Ardelia shook her head. "I can't believe you Clarice. It's bad enough that you ran off with him, now you tell me that you love him? Have you forgotten that he's a bloody cannibal?!"

Clarice looked down at her coffee and sighed. "Told you that you wouldn't understand," she muttered before looking back up at a livid Ardelia. "Listen, he's not as bad as you would think. Granted he did some really bad things, so have I. I'm not expecting you to change your opinion of him overnight, but I'm just asking for you to give him a chance. Ardelia, I really want us to be friends again, I've missed you a lot."

That seemed to soften up Ardelia some more. "God Starling," she looked up, as if the ceiling was going to give her the answer. "Why do you have to be so damn difficult all the time?" 

Clarice forced herself not to cringe as Ardelia looked back at her with pained eyes. "'Delia," Clarice spoke to her softly, "I'm deeply sorry for any pain I've caused you, I never meant for you to get hurt. You're like a sister to me Ardelia. You don't know how hard it was for me to leave without at least saying good bye, let alone the possibility that I might not see you again. Please Ardelia, I truly want us to be best friends again. I promise that I will never hurt you again."

That nearly broke Ardelia. "I honestly want to believe you Clarice..."

"Then believe me," Clarice simply responded.  

Ardelia looked at her old friend and broke. "Damn you C," she forced out a grin and a small chuckle, "I can't stay mad at you, I can never stay mad at you. And maybe you're right about the doctor, maybe I am a little too quick to judge him." A genuine smile finally cracked upon Ardelia's features. "Friends again?"

Clarice smiled right back. "Friends again," she repeated before drawing her best friend into a hug for the first time in almost a year.

***********************

Meanwhile, Jadis flipped through the file cabinet and pulled out a case file and handed it to Matthew. They were still in the office and were trying to find everything that they'll need over these next few days. She was still trying her hardest to get used to the fact that she's an agent again, even if it is just temporarily. Matthew was also trying to get used to just being around Jadis and her father, since he already knew Clarice a little bit he was more at ease when around her.

He looked around only to realize that he and Jadis were alone in the room. "Where's Dr. Lecter and Clarice?" he asked her.

"He went to talk to Agent Parker for a second, he should be back soon," she responded. "Clarice went to get some coffee at the cafeteria." She grinned at him. "What? Do I make you nervous or something?"

Matthew shook his head almost immediately, "No, of course not... well, maybe a little... no offence."

Jadis laughed and responded, "None taken." Sitting down at the desk, her fingers moved smoothly over the keyboard as she typed in her login password. "Well, this brings back memories," she muttered more to herself than anyone. "I wonder if Pearsall has changed his email account since I've left..."

Matthew blinked. "Excuse me?"

Jadis grinned at him again. "When I was just beginning as an agent here I used to hack into the Quantico computer files a lot. One day Pearsall had pissed me off – that in itself is a long story – so to get some revenge I hacked into his email account and sent everyone in Quantico an email under his name that said stuff like, 'to save money we're going to have to trade in our high-quality digital cameras for those big clunky black and white ones from the sixties' and other crap like that. The amazing thing was, some people actually took it seriously and went to complain to Pearsall about it." Jadis chuckled at the memory. "Good times, good times. He never found out that it was me, so I never got any trouble from it. One of my most fond memories of this place by far."

Matthew found himself sharing a light laugh from Jadis' story. "I wonder if he knows now," he said.

Jadis rolled her eyes and grinned, "Knowing Pearsall, I highly doubt it."

That caused them to share another small laugh for a few seconds. Matthew was finding himself at more and more ease with Jadis. "You know," he found himself saying, "You're not as bad as one may think you are, considering that you're a fugitive and a daughter of a cannibal. Again, no offence!"

Jadis smiled at him again, "And again, none taken. I'm glad that you think that. You're not that bad yourself, considering that you're the little brother of Paul Krendler. Oh, and I guess I should apologize if I had made you a little uncomfortable yesterday in the dungeon. I promise that I won't try anything like that again." Seeing the relieved sigh that Matthew emitted, Jadis was quick to add, "My father on the other hand..." she couldn't help but laugh at the look Matthew gave her. 

Despite this, Matthew began laughing with her. 'Yeah', he thought to himself, 'She's not that bad at all...'

***********************

Elaine kept a careful eye on Dr. Lecter ever since he stepped into her office a couple seconds ago. Behind him Vermont and Lawrence kept their guard and their respectful distance. Standing up and coming around the desk to face him, Elaine tried her best not to cringe at the feeling of his haunting eyes on her. 

"Anything I could help you with Doctor?" she asked in what she hoped was a professional tone.

"There is actually," he responded, "My companions and I were wondering a few things about this case. One of which is why did you come to us for help exactly?"

Elaine had to take a few seconds to piece her response just right. "Dr. Lecter, we've been working on this case for months now and we have gotten nowhere. You guys had tracked him down once before. We're hoping that with your help we'll be able to track him down once and for all. We've already wasted all the traditional ways of locating wanted criminals, now we're at our end."

Dr. Lecter tilted his head. "What had made tracking down Richard Silversted so hard? Surely the FBI must have gotten something."

Elaine shook her head. "Only enough to confirm that it's him. Other than that, it's like he just disappears at will. No one even knows what he looks like now." Elaine sighed before continuing. "He had killed again last night, this time it was a student here at Quantico. It's a long shot, but I think that he's trying to send you guys a message of sorts. Why else would he go after a Quantico student?" 

As she said this Elaine handed Dr. Lecter a few photos of the victim. "We've already sent down the victim's file to the office," she informed him. 

She repressed a shudder as he looked back up at her. "One last thing, Agent Parker, myself and my companions still remain highly skeptical of the FBI's promise to let us go after this is all over. We just wanted you to know if you have lied to us you'll be the one that gets the punishment, since this is your idea. Think you can remember that Agent Parker?"

Elaine swallowed at the cold look that had entered the doctor's eyes. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind," she responded. 

Dr. Lecter nodded. "Very well, good day to you Agent Parker." With that, he walked out of the office with the two guards following behind him. 

Elaine sat back down at her desk, an uneasy feeling that wouldn't go away still lingering in her. 'I think he knows,' she briefly thought, remembering that hard look in those telltale maroon eyes just seconds before. Trying to shake the thought from her head, she sipped at her cup of coffee and checked her emails. At the back of her mind however, Dr. Lecter's words still haunted her.


	11. Surprises

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, except for the ones I've made up myself.

**Family Blood**

_Chapter 11: Surprises _

Richard Silversted sat in the hotel room with his 'business' associate. It was very early in the morning and it was still very dark in the small room, but a little lamp on the coffee table provided light for the two men. 

"So we do it tonight?" Silversted asked. 

The other man nodded. "Yeah, once everyone's in bed and we rendezvous with our contact. Once we're sure that we're clear to move we'll strike."  

Silversted looked at the other man. "Where are we going to meet up with the contact?"

"Downstairs in the lobby. Do you have everything that we'll need?"

Silversted nodded and said, "Yeah, everything and then some. I don't know about you, but I think that this is going to be a hell of a lot of fun."

**********************

"Darrin Tinsley, age 24," read Matthew to the group, "Student of Behavioral Sciences here at Quantico. Was found at 11pm last night at the local park. It's been determined that he is a genuine Silversted victim." 

The whole group was now getting to work in the office. Matthew, Dr. Lecter, and Elaine were seated around the desk. Jadis had sat on top of a nearby table. Ardelia, Clarice, Vermont and Lawrence were all standing at various places in the room. In all, the fairly small office looked pretty crammed. 

Clarice sighed. "Well, he's defiantly nearby, that's a given. Have you guys checked out the smaller towns nearby?"

Elaine spoke up. "That was the first places we looked. Turned up with nothing."

Dr. Lecter examined the photos. "This looks like too much work for one person," he said.

"An aid?" Ardelia asked. "That's a rather big long shot there Doctor."

"He's right," Jadis quietly spoke, "Silversted isn't working alone."

"And how are you so sure of that Agent Lecter?" Elaine asked, almost sneering. 

Jadis hesitated and stole a quick glance at her father before speaking. "A few nights back when I was still in hiding Silversted... attacked me. Afterwards I heard him talking on the phone to someone. It sounded like they were planning something concerning Clarice, Dr. Lecter and I."

Elaine looked at her critically. "If he attacked you then why are you still alive?"

"I don't think that he wanted to kill me, I think that he just wanted to hurt and humiliate me."

Dr. Lecter spoke up. "Richard enjoys seeing pain, especially if it's from people that he feels has hurt him in some way or another. He feels like God when he sees his victims beg for mercy. He does it partially for revenge and partially for his own amusement."

Vermont reluctantly spoke up. "But some of his victims didn't do anything to him, he just picks them from random," she said.

"True," Dr. Lecter responded. "When he chooses victims like that it's usually for sending messages, like his latest casualty."

Elaine turned her attention back to Jadis. "Did he mention the other person's name at all?"

Jadis shook her head. "I was pretty disoriented at the time. If he did then I didn't catch it."    

Elaine let out a tired sigh. "Well, if any of you turn up with anything, let me and Pearsall know immediately." With that, she left the office and went back to her normal duties around Quantico.

************************

It was nearing the end of the day as the group began to pack everything up for the day. Not much progress had been made concerning the case, but everyone was starting to feel more at ease with everyone else. 'Better than no progress I guess,' thought Jadis as she slipped on her jacket. 

Beside her Matthew searched for his own coat among the mess that was the pile of coats on the chair in the corner of the office. The two were the last to leave, mostly because he had to pick up something from the evidence room and Jadis couldn't go anywhere without him guarding her. Matthew fingered the small package that he had picked up nervously. It had taken some doing to get it, but he was able to convince Elaine to allow him to take it out and give it back to its owner.

"So," Jadis said as he slipped on his coat, "Ready to go?"

Matthew swallowed, more than a little nervous at the thought of what he was going to do next. "Umm, yeah, just a sec, I have something for you," he handed her the small package that he had gotten from the evidence room. "I thought that you might want this back."

Jadis raised an eyebrow and took the package. She gave him a curious look before carefully opening it.

Matthew watched her face carefully, hoping that she won't be annoyed or anything at him for doing this. He really didn't want to annoy a Lecter. 

As she unraveled the package her maroon eyes went wide with surprise. Matthew held his breath, more or less praying to God that he didn't make a mistake. His fears evaporated as a smile appeared on Jadis' face. 

"Well, I didn't expect to see this again," Jadis commented as she carefully lifted the ankh necklace that her father had given her just before she left for Cairo a few months back. She looked up at Matthew and said, "You didn't have to do this."

Matthew grinned, "Hey, I wanted to. Consider it a thank you for helping out with this case, it's been giving me a headache for months now. Besides, it seemed kinda stupid to keep a necklace as evidence when there's nothing to gain from it."

Jadis chuckled, "I guess you're right on that point. Well, in any case, thanks. I was wondering what had happened to it."

"Wonder no more," Matthew quipped, feeling a little more at ease around the cannibal's daughter. 

The two shared a little laugh as they headed out the door to the hotel. On the way they seemed to be completely at ease with each other, Matthew, to Jadis, was no longer just 'the younger brother of Paul 'the Dickhead' Krendler, and to Matthew Jadis was no longer just the daughter of Hannibal 'the Cannibal' Lecter. They were actually starting to consider the idea that they were starting to forge something like a friendship between them.

In the hallway in the hotel, Jadis stopped at her door and turned to Matthew one last time. "Thanks again for finding my necklace, you really didn't have to."

Matthew grinned, "It was no problem at all. Besides, I wanted to."

A couple minutes were spent in uncomfortable silence between the FBI agent and the fugitive, both not sure of what to say at the moment. There were a few failed attempts at talking and a lot of "umms" and "uhhs" that had managed to escape their lips before Jadis finally formed a sentence. "Well, this is kinda uncomfortable," she more or less muttered. 

Matthew laughed quietly, "Can't disagree with you there," he said. "So, umm, I guess this is good night then?"

Jadis shrugged slightly, "I guess so," she said. Looking up at him, she hesitated a little before giving him a light kiss on the cheek. Grinning at Matthew's surprised expression, she simply said, "Good night Matt," and walked into her room and shut the door behind her. 

Matthew blinked and, very slowly, a slight grin graced his face. "Good night Jade," he softly responded, although he knew that she couldn't hear him. 

As he retired to his own room, he thought, "Yeah, she isn't that bad at all. I kinda like her..."

***************************

"So," Clarice said to Dr. Lecter, "what do you think so far?"

The couple were in their own hotel room now. Ardelia, Vermont and Lawrence were in nearby rooms, granting Dr. Lecter and Clarice some privacy. 

Dr. Lecter continued to stare out of the window as he responded. "I'm still extremely wary of this whole situation. The FBI isn't going to just let us go after this is all over, that should be a given."

Clarice nodded, "I know. What do you think about Elaine? She seems like the royal bitch to me."

Dr. Lecter seemed to hesitate before responding. "I find her to be quite the... shady character to say the least. To tell the truth, she seems to be a little too confident for my liking."

Clarice joined him by the window and rested her head on his shoulder. "I see you have a high opinion of her," she said, sarcasm clear on her tone.

Dr. Lecter wrapped an arm around her and held her close, "Speaking of which, I'm curious to know of your opinion of Matthew Krendler."

Sighing, Clarice closed her eyes slightly, getting more and more tired. "He's alright I guess. Nothing like his brother thank God. He seemed to have warmed up to Jadis quite nicely though."

"That I won't argue," Dr. Lecter agreed. Looking down at Clarice, he asked, "Tired, my dear?"

Clarice lazily opened an eye and muttered something that sounded like an affirmative. Closing her eye once again, she quickly found herself lifted into Dr. Lecter's arms and carried off to bed. She was asleep before even feeling the mattress underneath her. 

***************************

"So, how are you doing Nikki?" asked Jason Lawrence as he handed her a cup of Coke. The two had to share a room right across from Dr. Lecter's and Clarice's for the time being.

Nikki Vermont shrugged. "I had to follow around a cannibal all day. You were there, weren't you?" she grinned as Lawrence gave his old friend a playful punch on the shoulder. The two were best friends from way back, practically growing up together. They weren't even attracted to each other in a romantic sort of way, just best friends. Besides, both of them were very happily married. 

As Vermont jokingly tackled Lawrence to the floor like she has about hundred times before in their life together, a knock at the door disturbed their play. 

"Who the hell could this be?" Lawrence muttered as he got up to open the door, Vermont trailing behind him. Opening the door, the two agents were in for the shock of their life when they saw who was on the other side.

***************************

"Vermont?" Ardelia knocked on the door again. "Lawrence? Please don't tell me you two are still asleep."

It was about six thirty in the morning and the two young agents were a half hour late in getting to work. Ardelia had had enough of this. Checking the doorknob, she was surprised to find it unlocked. 

'That's odd,' she thought but quickly shrugged it off. 

Slipping through the door and into the room, her eyes went wide as she looked upon the scene in front of her. "Oh shit," she whispered before bolting to her room for the phone. Inside the room, the bloody corpses of Nikki Vermont and Jason Lawrence looked up towards the ceiling with lifeless eyes. 

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_(A/N: Okay, sorry about the little delay in getting this up, been very busy these days. Anyways, from here on it should be a little more fast paced. As always, thanks for all the great reviews! Every single on of them are greatly appreciated!)_

_-SP_     


	12. A New Player

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, except for the ones that I've made up myself.

**Family Blood**

_Chapter 12: A New Player_

"I can't believe this!" Clint Pearsall slammed a fist hard onto his oak desk, frustration burning in his eyes. "You guys haven't been on the job for even a week and already two of our best agents are dead! What's the matter with you people?!" 

Elaine stayed silent as she continued to glare at the three beside the fuming Pearsall. She had yet to say a word to them today other than 'You three are wanted in Pearsall's office, _now._' 

Dr. Lecter took the time that Pearsall was using to catch his breath to speak for the group. "Agent Pearsall, I assure you that none of us are responsible for the deaths of Agents Vermont and Lawrence. The security tapes should confirm that."

"There are no security tapes doctor," Pearsall's voice lessened in volume, but not in tone. "Once Mapp and Krendler get back from the hotel with some evidence we'll see if you're off the hook or not. But until then you three are our top suspects."

Clarice spoke up, "Have you guys considered the possibility that it might be another Silversted killing?" 

Elaine finally spoke. "So far we don't think so. Neither of the bodies has the brail signature nor seemed to have suffered. From the looks of things they were each knocked out, stabbed, and sliced open. So far none of Silversted's victims were killed in this manner."

"What about the possibility that Silversted or someone is trying to frame us?" Jadis suggested. 

Pearsall sighed. "We're still open to that possibility, though at this point we're not jumping to any conclusions."

"Not jumping to any conclusions?" Dr. Lecter echoed. "Less than two minutes ago you were blaming us for the two agents' deaths, clearly under the assumption that one of us is their killer."

"Doctor," Elaine said. "I'm sure Agent Pearsall was just a little upset at that moment, and we apologize for it. We want to find out the truth about this just as eagerly as you three do. Trust me, once we find something at the scene that could identify who did this, you guys will be one of the first to know."

The three looked at Elaine with untrusting eyes, but remained in accepting silence. Now all they could do was wait.

******************************

"What have you found so far Matthew?" asked Ardelia.

Matthew sighed, "Not much unfortunately, though we did find something quite interesting."

Ardelia lifted an eyebrow. "Which is?"

Standing up from his crouching position on the floor, Matthew indicated the whole scene in the room. The bodies had been taken to the morgue a few hours earlier already. At the moment FBI and other investigators were inspecting the still bloody scene. "This seems to be way too much work for only one person to do, or even two." Matthew hesitated and said, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that three people were involved with this."

Ardelia shook her head in disbelief. "You couldn't be suggesting that Clarice, Dr. Lecter and Jadis are responsible for this. Why would they do something like this and stay here with us still?"

"Agreed. To tell the truth, I doubt very much that they are responsible. I'd say that one of the killers is in fact Richard Silversted, but the rest I have no clue."

"But there's no signature on either of the bodies," Ardelia countered. "Unless he's trying to make this look like the trio did this, we haven't found anything that could suggest that Silversted's involved with this."

"Yet," Matthew argued sharply. 

Ardelia was about to reply when an agent called them over to the dresser. "What did you find?" she asked him.

The agent indicated the shiny pine surface of the dresser. Upon it was a facecloth that had been handled by some bloody hands. "We found some fingerprints that might help out. It's nothing much but there you go."

Matthew patted the agent on the back. "Good work," he muttered to him. Looking over to Ardelia, he asked, "Should I call Pearsall and Parker about this Agent Mapp?"

Ardelia nodded. "Yeah, you do that. I'll gather up the prints and anything else we can find. Meet me at the car."

**********************************

"What do you guys have?" Pearsall asked Ardelia and Matthew as they entered the office. Elaine, Dr. Lecter, Clarice and Jadis were already there.

"Well," Matthew responded. "We found some fingerprints on a facecloth and as we were leaving a couple hair samples. They're now getting everything tested right now. In a few minutes we'll have the results."

Elaine nodded. "Good work you two. Anything else?"

"Actually yes," Ardelia said. "At the scene we had come to the conclusion that there was more than one person involved with this. We're leaning towards three at the moment."

Clarice spoke up. "Three? You aren't suggesting that..."

"We're not suggesting anything Clarice," Ardelia quickly informed her friend. "We're just reporting what we saw."

Dr. Lecter asked, "What makes you so sure that there were three individuals involved?"

"Well, for one," Matthew answered. "The murders must have happened very quickly, seeing as how no one heard anything last night. One person alone couldn't bring down two federal agents just like that. Another thing was that there was a lot of indication of movement in the room, and seeing as how Lawrence and Vermont were killed very quickly, there was enough evidence there of the presence of three intruders." Matthew shrugged. "It's a lot clearer if you actually saw the scene I guess."

Elaine was about to say something when the ringing of Pearsall's telephone interrupted her. 

"Great," Pearsall said into the receiver, "We'll be down right away."

"The results are ready?" Jadis asked as soon as he hung up, obviously eager for the news.

Pearsall nodded. "Yeah, they are. They said that they had only found out two of the killers so far. The third one they're having problems with. But we're allowed to go down and view the results right now."

Standing up, the group made their way to the room where the results were being held. An agent at a computer greeted them and quickly moved away to the other side of the room. Elaine sat down at the computer and pulled up the first results. 

_Silversted, Richard_

"Well," she muttered, "guess you guys were right about that one." 

The next results evoked some surprising reactions from the group. Pearsall went completely pale, as did Matthew. Elaine's and Ardelia's eyes almost bulged out of their eye sockets. Dr. Lecter for the most part remained emotionless, but a look on his face indicated a hint of uneasiness. Jadis let out a gasp.

"Oh my God..." Jadis practically whispered.

Clarice shook her head, unable to believe it. "No," she said, her voice unsteady. "This can't be right, it can't be at all..."

On the screen the results read:

_Crawford, Jack_


	13. Showtime

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, except for the ones I've made up myself.

**Family Blood**

_Chapter 13: Showtime  _

"No, I refuse to believe it," Clarice shook her head as she paced back and forth in the office. "Jack Crawford was my friend, he would never do something like this."

"Sometimes it doesn't take much to drive a man over the edge," Elaine tried to calm her down, to no avail. 

Dr. Lecter spoke up. "I wouldn't say that this turn in events is too surprising. Jack Crawford had taken a lot of abuse from the FBI during his time here. Personally, I'm just surprised that it took him this long to finally lash out."

Jadis shook her head. "Something just doesn't add up here though. Wouldn't the FBI know if he had been doing stuff like this by now? I thought you guys still kept tabs on former agents and employees."

Pearsall nodded. "Yeah, we do. About five months ago Crawford had reportedly went on a long vacation to Europe. A month later the Silversted murders began again. We had decided to give Crawford his privacy while he was on vacation so we didn't bother to check in on him." He sighed before saying, "And now look what happens, one of the Bureau's greatest has become a serial killer." 

"It's always those you least expect," Dr. Lecter commented under his breath more or less. Pearsall grunted his agreement. 

"Well," Matthew spoke up. "We still haven't found out who the third person is, so we're at a disadvantage in that respect. I suggest that we should keep a closer watch on the hotel and Quantico. If they come around again then we may be able to catch them."

"I don't know how much help that would be," Ardelia argued. "They already managed to get pass us last night when they killed Vermont and Lawrence, and the security at the hotel was already extremely tight. Not even an ant could get through without arousing someone's attention."

Elaine looked at Ardelia critically. "You have a better idea Mapp?"

The other woman thought for a moment, but eventually sighed in uneasy defeat. The tension in the small room seemed to grow thicker by the minute. Clarice wouldn't stop pacing back and forth no matter how many tries the group had taken to clam her down. The reality that Jack Crawford had become a serial killer stung hard for all of them, but especially Clarice. To her Crawford was her mentor and guardian angel when she was still in the FBI. To see him as a cold blooded killer was almost too much for her to take.  

Pearsall sighed and spoke up. "Okay, so until we can figure out the best way to go around this, we'll beef up the security around the hotel and Quantico. It's the best we can do at the moment. I'll go talk to Noonan about this new development as well. He might be able to help out in some way. How does that sound to everyone?"

Elaine shrugged. "Better than nothing I guess," she muttered. 

Pearsall nodded and a little hesitantly left the group alone to sort out their thoughts.

******************************

Later that day, when the sun had left the sky, two men walked through a large empty building that had been roving with activity just an hour before. Their footsteps echoed in the eerie silence.

Richard Silversted looked over at his companion. "You sure that this is going to work Jack?"

Jack Crawford nodded. "I'm positive Richard. We should at least be able to take one of them down here. The rest we'll get at the other place. Our source says that they'll be here in about an hour."

Silversted grinned. "You know what? This has been a little too easy to manipulate them. It's almost like they want to die."

The two men shared a laugh at the thought. Jack Crawford had tracked down Silversted months earlier when he was in England. Silversted was getting treatment for his eye, under an alias of course, and Crawford met up with him afterwards. After ensuring that he wasn't going to turn him in to the FBI, Crawford had made an offer to Silversted. If they worked together to help destroy Hannibal Lecter, Clarice Starling, and Jadis Lecter, then Crawford would reward Silversted with thousands of dollars and help him stay out of the FBI's grasp. Silversted couldn't resist the offer and instantly agreed to help. From the inside of the Bureau Crawford had maintained a close friendship with someone. In exchange for an advancement and fame, his contact offered to become an inside source of information and the like. Now the two revenge bent men were getting ready for the showdown. Silversted wanted Jadis for himself, whereas Crawford wanted to kill Clarice himself. They both wanted Dr. Lecter dead.

Looking down at his watch, Silversted grinned. "Almost show time," he said, his voice vibrating with barely contained excitement. 

******************************

Elaine practically flew down the hallways of Quantico from her workplace to the group's office. Her breath was burning in her throat and lungs and she more or less shoved her way pass the people that dared to get in her way. Her excitement caused her to see everything in slow motion even though she knew that she was running at top speed. They finally had a chance to confront Silversted and Crawford.  

Bursting through the door, she had to make herself stop running by racing into the desk and using her hands to keep herself from falling. She was out of breath and took a few minutes to regain her air. Around her the group was startled by her rapid entrance. 

"Parker," Jadis inquired. "What's going on?"

Elaine tried her best to ignore the burning sensation in her chest as she breathed out her response. "The mall," she managed to get out.

Matthew leaned in closer to hear her. "What about the mall?" he asked.

Elaine straightened herself up and once she was breathing reasonably better she answered, "It's Silversted and Crawford. We just got a tip off that they broke into that new mall across town."

The group looked at each other and back at Elaine, seemingly unsure if they should believe her or not. She nodded and said, "I've already told Pearsall, he said that us six should go there right now and try to apprehend them. We have to call for back up once we get there though."

That was enough convincing for the group. All they wanted was to get this case done and over with, though a few of them were out for blood as well. Making a quick stop to get a few guns and anything else they may have needed, in about ten minutes they were on their way to the dark mall to confront the source of all their troubles. 


	14. Confronting the Past

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, except for the ones I've made up myself.

**Family Blood**

_Chapter 14: Confronting the Past _

The group of six stepped out of the warm car and into the cool dark night air. The pavement below them almost felt slippery as they approached the dim vacant mall cautiously. As they got closer to the front entrance a small piece of paper taped to one of the glass doors came into view. Matthew took it down and read it out loud: 

_"Well now, it looks like you guys have taken the bait. We hope that, for your sake, you all have a weapon or two, because all three of us are most certainly armed. So then, let the games begin! Sincerely, Jack Crawford & Richard Silversted"_

Ardelia shook her head in mild disbelief. "Leaving a note behind for us? Looks like they're taking a page from your book Doctor."

Dr. Lecter gave her a look that was pure offence. "They're trying to, Agent Mapp," he corrected her.

Jadis spoke up thoughtfully, "If all three of them are here, then why did only Silversted and Crawford sign their names?"

Elaine opened the door and slipped through. "That we'll have to find out," she quietly said as the rest of the group followed her into the seemingly empty mall. 

Guns and harpy drawn and at ready, Elaine whispered, "We should all split up. We'll cover a lot more ground that way."

As they all moved away in different directions, some more reluctantly than others, their footsteps seemed to echo all through the mall were the killers awaited them. 

*************************

Clarice moved up the stilled escalator to the second floor. Near her on the right was a large open space with brass railing all around where you can see down into the first floor far below. She had been in this mall a few times before, but this wasn't the shopping center she had remembered. This usually bright and cheery place had an eerie feeling about it. She found herself half expecting an unseen phantom to leap out of the dark shadows and lunge for her throat at any minute.

From the bottom floor, all the way at the other side of the large mall, a thundering crash resounded, breaking the haunting silence. She faintly heard the rapid footsteps of what she hoped were her companions running towards the source of the sound.

She was just about to follow in suit when a reflection in one of the store windows caught her eye. Acting on sheer instinct, Clarice vaulted herself over the railing and just barely caught the bottom brass rail. A stinging pain surged up through her arm as it absorbed the weight of body. Gratefully getting her other hand up over her head and grasping onto the railing, Clarice dangled helplessly over the concrete floor beneath her. 

"Long time no see Starling," a hauntingly familiar male voice greeted her, his voice emotionless.

Clarice felt her heart stop dead. Straining her neck to look up, the sight of her former mentor's head peering down at her filled her vision.

"Mr. Crawford," Clarice managed to breathe out.   

Jack Crawford looked down at the helpless Clarice. This wasn't the same Jack Crawford she remembered at all. This... _thing... had the most demented looking eyes she had ever seen, not those soft and sad pupils of her former friend. _

"What the hell happened to you?" she found herself asking him.

Crawford let out something that she guessed was supposed to be a chuckle. "Nothing major Starling, just the realization that you betrayed me, hurt me, not to mention used me."

Clarice blinked at the man above her. "What do you mean?"

"I mean turning your back on the FBI, running off with Lecter, and not to mention scarring me for life." Shaking his head, he continued. "You know Starling, for the longest time I thought that I was in love with you. But then Lecter comes along and takes you from me."

Clarice saw the pained look behind his eyes. "Jack," she tried desperately to reason with him. "I'm sorry if I had hurt you, I never meant to. But I had to leave with him. Don't do this Jack, please."

Crawford didn't seem to listen to a word she had said. Instead, he disappeared for a few seconds from Clarice's sight, giving her the chance to try to find a way back to solid ground. Below her she saw a very narrow beam holding up a few lights. She guessed that the beam was about three inches wide and the drop to the floor below her was roughly about twenty feet. Quickly contemplating her options, she saw that if she tried to fall to the ground below her she ran the risk of breaking a leg or her neck. If she tried to climb back up she still had Crawford to contend with.

'Damnit,' she angrily thought. 'Where the hell is the rest of the group?'

Looking back up, she saw that Crawford had returned. The weapon that he now held in his hand was a small camping axe, the silver blade deadly sharp. Lining up the blade with her fingers on her left hand, Crawford looked back down at his former student. 

"All it will take is one swipe Starling, and then you'll plummet to your death. Aren't you going to beg for mercy?" Getting nothing but a cold glare from Clarice, he went on. "Didn't think so, you're brave little Clarice Starling."

As the axe came down, Clarice took a large leap of faith and released. She felt the wind from the descending axe just missing her index finger by millimeters as she tried desperately to aim for the narrow beam. 

One hand just barely grasped the beam as gravity made her plummet downwards. The other hand waved wildly in the air for a split second in slight panic, but quickly found its way to the beam. Wrapping her shaking legs around the rocking piece of metal for more grip, Clarice held on for dear life as she swung wildly from side to side for a few hideously long minutes. When the swinging finally stilled, she breathed for the first time in what felt like ages.

Crawford took a swing at her from above with the small axe. Clarice clung on to the beam, still as a stone. She didn't dare move yet.

Looking a little defeated, Crawford backed off slightly. "You got away this time Starling," he warned, "but we'll see each other again before the night is over, I guarantee it."

Clarice glared furiously at the traitor. "Find a place to hide you bastard," she growled at him. "Because I'm making you a promise, I will kill you Crawford."

As he strolled calmly away, clearly not deterred by her threat, Clarice screamed at him, "I'LL KILL YOU! I FUCKING SWEAR I'LL KILL YOU!"

********************************

As a shaking Clarice carefully climbed down to the bottom floor, the rest of the group ran to her side.

"We heard you yelling," Matthew informed her.

"Crawford was here," she responded, clearly still pissed. "What was that crash?"

"Nothing more than some TVs being knocked over," said Dr. Lecter. "My guess is that it was a distraction. Are you alright Clarice?" 

She nodded. "I'll be fine, we need to get-"

She was interrupted by footsteps above them. Looking up, they saw a fleeting shadow, one very visibly not Crawford.

"Silversted," Jadis growled. "I'll go after him." 

Getting her gun ready, she went after the other killer.

Elaine spoke up. "I'll call for back up." Reaching for her cell phone, an uneasy feeling came over the rest of the group.      


	15. Nemesis

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, except for the ones I've made up myself.

**Family Blood**

_Chapter 15: Nemesis _

Jadis Lecter ran at top speed up the steel stairs as she pursued Richard Silversted. She didn't really care where he was going to lead her, she just wanted him dead. The extremely dim lighting made it very hard to see, but she didn't let that deter her. Even as her breath burned in her lungs and throat, still she went on.

A loud slam from just above her alerted Jadis to the presence of a door that Silversted just went through. Forcing herself to speed up despite running the risk of falling down the stairs and breaking a bone, she made it to the gray door and tried to get it opened, only to fond it locked.

"Oh fuck this," she muttered as she aimed her gun to the lock and fired. The remains of the handle and lock fell to the ground as she kicked the door down, impatience getting the best of her.

A cold waft of air greeted her slender for as Jadis stepped out into the night air. Like the staircase, the rooftop of the mall wasn't very well lit, but the full moon in the sky provided just enough light for her to see reasonably well. Her footsteps made very little sound on the concrete below her. To either side of her were large air vents. There were also a few large glass skylights strew about the rooftop, if you looked down them you could see right down into the second floor of the mall. 

Gun poised at ready, Jadis walked a little farther out into the air and scanned her surroundings with her darkened maroon eyes. The young Lecter was out for blood.

Tired of waiting, Jadis called out to her nemesis, venom in her tone, "Alright Silversted, show yourself and we'll settle this right here right now. Or are you afraid to?"

The short silence that followed seemed like an eternity to Jadis. Finally a response, "You know that I wouldn't disappoint you when it comes to us two Lecter." That all too familiar voice made Jadis' blood run cold. Stepping out from behind on of the air vents, Richard Silversted revealed himself to Jadis. 

Jadis had to force herself not to pull the trigger on her gun just yet. Her eyes almost seemed to glow an eerie blood red in the darkness of the night. She wanted to see him suffer, just like what he had done to her, her mother, and Clarice. 

Silversted just stood there with a hand behind his back, a demented grin plastered on his face. "Is that any way to greet an old friend Jade?"

Jadis tried hard not to cringe at the use of her nickname by the poor excuse of flesh before her. "You raped and killed my mother," she responded with a deadly tone in her voice, "you tried to kill my friend and my father, and you raped and destroyed my childhood. I am your enemy forever."

His one real eye seemed to darken slightly at her words. "Could you blame me Lecter?" he countered, a new edge in his voice. "After what I had to endure in my life because of your father?"

"It was your own damned fault Silversted and both you and I know it," Jadis argued, her voice hardening with every syllable. "Like my father had said a few months ago, you're in denial. You're pinning your own faults on others just so that you won't take the blame." Shaking her head, she added, "Do you have any idea at how pathetic that makes you Richard?"

At that moment she truly looked and sounded like her father's daughter. Jadis still held him at gunpoint, her eyes never blinking, her muscles not visibly moving. She was ready to pounce at any second now.

Silversted was at his breaking point. Pulling his hand out from behind his back in his own time, he revealed a shimmering blade to the young woman. Jadis felt her scar sting at the memories that came with the sight of such a blade.

Her nemesis slowly approached her, not seeming to care about the pistol that Jadis still aimed at him. She took a couple steps back to regain a little bit of the distance between them. Even though she did want to kill him, she needed the distance from him for a variety of reasons. 

Silversted hummed a chuckle. "Scared of me Lecter? After our last meeting I can't say I blame you."

That infuriated Jadis to the very edge of her sanity. No longer having control of her rage, she lunged at the murderer in a flash. 

Silversted didn't anticipate this action and, in result, was met with a hard blow to the jaw which was quickly followed by a powerful kick to the stomach. Lurching back, he could feel his cheap glass eye almost pop out of his eye socket. He lost grip of the knife and lost it to the darkness all around him.

Jadis tried to pistol whip him out of his misery when he grasped hold of her rapidly descending hand and wretched the gun from her grip. He quickly followed up with a powerful uppercut to her jawbone. Falling back, Jadis felt the wind being forced out of her body as she landed hard onto her back. 

The next thought that crossed her barely conscious mind was the feel of the surface beneath her. Instead on the rough concrete that she had expected, the surface felt smooth and cold beneath her hand, which was quickly accompanied by a sharp crackling sound of glass breaking.

Above her, Silversted aimed the gun to the side of her head. "Goodbye Lecter," he told her, the sadistic grin still planted on his features. "I'll be sure to give my condolences to your father when I see him."

*******************************

"Jadis!" Matthew pointed up to the ceiling above the group. Silhouetted on the skylight was the young woman's form. All around her a spider web of cracking glass was crawling larger by the second. 

A single gunshot sounded above them and Jadis went crashing through the glass. As she plummeted to the floor below Dr. Lecter acted on sheer instinct. Ignoring the falling glass the best as he could, he tried to get underneath the falling woman before she met her death. 

Luck was on their side that night. Dr. Lecter quickly got out of the shower of glass shards with the lifeless Jadis in his arms. Both of the Lecters had various cuts from the sharp pieces of falling glass.

"We have to get out of here," Ardelia said once she got over the shock. The group nodded their agreement, except one of them.

"Nobody moves," Elaine's voice threatened. A click of the safety of her gun soon followed. She stood there with her gun pointed directly at Dr. Lecter. "Anyone tries to leave, the Doctor is a dead man."

Dr. Lecter remained calm and said, "Wouldn't this look a little suspicious to the back up when they arrive? Or are we right to assume that you didn't really call for them?"

"You're damn right I didn't call for them. I'm not letting this ruin my chance for an advancement. If those two aren't going to kill you, then I will."

Another click of a gun. "Not if I kill you first you backstabbing bitch," an angry voice said before the sound of a gunshot rang through the mall. As Elaine Parker's fresh corpse collapsed to the hard floor, Matthew Krendler slid his still smoking gun back into its holster. 

Clarice shook her head. "I should have known," she muttered, "she must have been the third killer. Why didn't we see this before?"

"We'll figure that out later," Dr. Lecter said. "Right now we should leave."

Matthew looked down worriedly at the limp Jadis. "Is she okay?" he asked.

Her father felt her wrist, feeling her pulse. "She's alive," he reported. "Must have just been knocked unconscious. I'll look her over better back at the hotel room."

The group wasted no time in heading back out to the parking lot and made their way back to the hotel. Their night was still far from over.          


	16. Playing Possum

_(A/N: Sorry about the long delay in getting this up, was having computer problems for a while. Anyways, here's chapter 16 for your reading pleasure!)_

**Family Blood**

_Chapter 16: Playing Possum_

Back at Dr. Lecter's and Clarice's hotel room, the dwindling group of five stayed silent as they tried to take in the night's events so far. Jadis was resting on the bed wide awake, a few bandages covering her body. She hadn't taken as much damage as they had first though she did, but it was enough it keep her immobile for an hour or so. 

Matthew looked over at the young woman, a small hint of worry still in his heart. He had been scared for her when she had landed in her father's arms after her what could have been fatal fall to the ground. The thought that he might have lost her frightened him. Since settling into the car at the parking lot at the mall, he hadn't left her side. 

'I can't believe this,' Matthew thought at the back of his weary mind. 'I'm falling for a cannibal's daughter! If only Paul could see me now...' He had to fight back a smirk at the look that might have been on his deceased brother's face if he knew what was going through Matthew's mind.

The silence was driving Clarice nuts. A little louder than she had expected, she finally asked, "How the hell didn't we know about Parker's involvement? We should have seen it right from the beginning!"

"The bitch was always manipulative C," Ardelia responded. "You would have been amazed at what she had been able to get away with in the Bureau by using anyone she needed to."

Dr. Lecter spoke up. "I must admit, this does explain a lot about this entire situation. I only wonder how long she has been helping them."

Jadis quietly said, "A little too late to find that out now, seeing as how Matt blew her head off." A slight smirk was playing on her features.

Matthew felt his face redden slightly at Jadis' comment.

Clarice was about to say something more when the telephone came alive, its ringing calling out to the group in the room. Looking at the caller ID, Dr. Lecter put whoever was on the other end on speaker phone while signaling to the rest of the group to stay silent. 

"Who am I speaking to?" he asked into the phone.

The male voice on the other end gave off a slight chuckle. "Really Hannibal, I never thought you could be that direct," Silversted's mocking voice responded. "But given the circumstances, I guess you can't be blamed. After all, it's not everyday that you lose your only child. You have my sincerest condolences."

With an angry comeback at the tip of her tongue, Jadis was ready to give him a piece of his mind when Dr. Lecter indicated to her to keep her mouth shut. Grudgingly, his daughter complied. 

"Thank you for your condolences Richard," Dr. Lecter's voice sounded a little more forced, hints of anger showing through. "However, you know as well as I do that I can't leave her death unpaid."

The group shot him a look, but the doctor ignored it. They got the message instantly. No need to let Silversted and Crawford know that Jadis had survived. The less they knew, the better.

Silversted sounded a little more irritated when he spoke next. "I thought that we were even when your daughter's boyfriend there killed our associate. An eye for an eye, as some would say. We take one of yours, you take one of ours."

Dr. Lecter made his voice go up in volume slightly. "Maybe so you little piece of shit, but it would be much more appropriate for you to die. Parker just got in our way."

The group had to fight to not laugh at how easily the man on the other end of the line was falling for the act the doctor was putting on. But no matter how tempting it was, none of them could fall out of character for now. Their role was to appear beaten down and humiliated, not applauding at their companions' acting skills.    

As predicted, Silversted fell for it all the way. "Now now Hannibal, if you want to see me again that badly, you just need to ask. Oh and if Clarice is there, tell her that Jack says hi. Maybe she would like to see him as well."

Clarice muttered underneath her breath, "Damn right you son of a bitch."

Dr. Lecter showed no sign that he heard Clarice's comment. "Only if Jack wants to die as well, tell him that Clarice would be more than happy to see him as well."

Another mocking chuckle at the other end. "Let's not keep Agents Mapp and Krendler out of this, tell them that they can come along as well. Come to the storage facility on the outskirts of the city, the one called 'Johnny's Discount Storage'. You'll know it when you see it. Park outside of the front doors; we'll meet you all there. You bring no weapons, we'll bring no weapons. Deal?"

"Deal," Dr. Lecter replied instantly. 

"Good. See you guys soon then." A click then he was gone.

"Does anyone know where that is?" Clarice asked eagerly.

Ardelia nodded. "I drive by it almost everyday on my way to Quantico. It's not that far from here, maybe a ten minute drive or so."

Dr. Lecter nodded. "Jadis, you'll have to carry a few weapons since the rest of us can't. We'll also need to figure out a way for you to follow us without being noticed."

"That should be easy enough," Jadis said. "I could just go ahead of you guys and park a mile or so up the road. I'll walk off the road from there, just in case they're watching the highway too."

"Okay then," Clarice spoke up. "Are we all ready to get going with this?" She was visibly eager to face off with Crawford once more, wanting revenge for earlier that night.

"Just let me get the weapons," Jadis said while standing up, finally getting the strength to move around on her own a little bit. "Matt, could you come with me? I'm still going to need some help with walking upright for a while."

Matthew was at her side almost instantly. As the two moved into Jadis' empty room, he made sure that she wouldn't fall flat on her face.

"Okay, I'm fine," Jadis told him while steadying herself on the dresser. "I should be alright in a few minutes. Could you pass me those guns on the other dresser over there?"

"Yeah, sure," Matthew promptly complied, handing her the two small guns one by one. She tucked them away into her holster and jacket pockets.

Matthew looked over at her and asked, "Are you sure that you're going to be okay? You're still not one hundred percent."

Jadis gave him a slight grin, "I'm close enough to hundred to survive Matt, don't worry." She paused for a second to regain her balance enough to walk upright on her own. Once that was accomplished the said, "One more thing Matthew..." 

Walking over to the man, she had to steady herself on the bed a couple times to keep from falling. Matthew swallowed, not sure of what was coming next. He enjoyed being around her and all, but at the back of his mind the remaining fact was that she was still a Lecter and he a Krendler. Lecters and Krendlers didn't have a good history together.

However, what she did next came as a shock to him. Wrapping her arms around Matthew's neck, Jadis pulled him into a kiss. The man was very surprised at her action, but quickly found himself responding to her. Pulling away, Jadis had a grin planted on her face. 

"Consider that a thank you," she said. "Thanks for helping us out with this. And thank you for not turning out like your brother."

Matthew, who was still recovering from the shock, managed to get out, "Well, um, you're welcome then." Inside he mentally kicked himself for the cheesy response.

Still grinning, Jadis pulled him into another quick kiss and said, "And that one was just for the pleasure of it." 

Matthew found himself smiling and sharing a small chuckle with her. "We should get going now," he eventually said, "You still need to ask Ardelia for the directions too."

Nodding, Jadis agreed with him as the two made their way out the door to join with the rest of their group. 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@

_(A/N: Hmm, didn't turn out as good as I thought it would. Ah well, it's alright for now I guess. Oh and I apologize for the minimal Clarice and GD interaction these last few chapters. I've been having a very hard time in doing that in this story, but I promise that you'll see a lot more of them in upcoming chapters (besides, you honestly didn't think that I've forgotten about Nathan Chilton, did you? *evil grin*) Anyways, I'm feeling a little burnt out right now so the next chapter might take a while. And as always, thank you for all the great reviews!)_

_-SP/NC_


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